Singapore American School

Coordinates: 1°25′33.53″N 103°46′28.60″E / 1.4259806°N 103.7746111°E

Singapore American School
Address
40 Woodlands Street 41
Woodlands
Singapore
Information
Type Private International School
Established 1956
Superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball
Faculty 375[1]
Enrollment 3,936[1] (2014)
Campus size 37 acres (150,000 m2)
Campus type Urban
Color(s) Blue, white, and red             
Mascot Eagles
Information (65) 6363-3403
Website Singapore American School

Singapore American School (SAS) is a private international school in Singapore that offers an American-based curriculum from preschool through to Grade 12 for approximately 3,900 expatriate students. Approximately two-thirds of the students at SAS are United States citizens, with the rest of the student body comprising more than 50 nationalities. Few Singaporean students attend the school as Singapore government regulations prevent most local students from attending international schools within the country.

Academically, SAS has the largest Advanced Placement Program outside the United States, delivering 29 AP courses as an integral part of high school course options.[2]

SAS has a strong athletic tradition. It is part of the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS), providing SAS students with the opportunity to compete regularly with other international schools in the region in both academic and sports events. Such competitions and conventions include Model United Nations, the arts, and a host of sports such as swimming, cross country, golf, and basketball. The school has a student newspaper, The Eye, which has won the Columbia Gold Crown award multiple times, as well as other rewards from the National Scholastic Press Association.[3]

SAS is accredited by the United States based Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).[1]

The Good Schools Guide International reviewed the school as "an extremely spacious school for Singapore with wonderful, modern facilities, strong academics, and a plethora of options within the curriculum and extracurricular program".[4]

Faculty

Approximately 375 faculty members work full-time at SAS, 77% of whom hold Master's or Doctorate degrees. 70% of faculty members are from the United States; non-US citizen faculty members most commonly come from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The UK and Singapore. The tenure of SAS faculty is, on average, six years. Most teachers at SAS have previously had experience teaching in other international schools.[5]

Academics

Curriculum

Singapore American School has a six-year curriculum cycle resulting in continuous review and renewal in all subject and service areas.[6] This cycle ensures that curriculum, service areas, and classroom resources are continually upgraded and connected to “best practices”. Each subject or service area is reviewed over a three year cycle: Year One is the Study Year and stakeholder feedback, current practices and “best practices” are reviewed, Year Two is the Development Year and curriculum revision/renewal is finalized and new/additional classroom resources are identified, and Year Three is the Implementation Year and the new curriculum is implemented and classroom resources are incorporated into the delivery of the program.

Advanced Placement Program

Among 590 SAS students who completed 1414 AP exams in 2014, 310 students earned Advanced Placement Awards; in addition, 96% of all scores were 3 or higher, demonstrating qualification for college credit or advanced placement. AP exams SAS students have traditionally excelled in include Calculus BC ('08 mean score: 4.9); Chinese Language ('08 mean score: 4.8); World History ('08 mean score: 4.6); and Chemistry, Calculus AB, Biology, and Comparative Government & Politics ('08 mean score: 4.5). In addition, SAS graduates of 2000, 2001, and 2002 have received the AP International Scholar Award, given to only one male and one female student each year among all International American schools outside of the U.S.

In addition to AP courses, honors courses such as Molecular Biology**, Accelerated Chemistry**, Algebra II/Trigonometry**, and Pre-Calculus** are offered. These courses provided fast-paced learning and go into the depths of certain topics; making it more challenging for the students and better preparing them for Advanced Placement Courses.

Interim Semester

Interim Semester is a required off-campus experience designed to enhance the curriculum by providing high school students with diverse educational experiences beyond the traditional classroom. Interim Semester courses offered vary slightly from year to year, but will range from activities in Singapore to excursions to other nations in Asia and beyond. In October students receive specific information about courses that will be offered for that school year and will be asked to make their selection.

For one week during second semester, all regularly scheduled high school courses cease while students and teachers participate in the interim semester program. In the past, interim semester has offered SAS students opportunities such as trekking in the Himalayas of Nepal, service in the Philippines, exploring the spirituality and culture of Tibet, investigating the history of Turkey, student teaching at SAS's elementary and middle schools and sailing, or golfing in Singapore.

Interim semester allows students to participate in three types of experiences:

global studies – students deepen their understanding of the world through a focused area of inquiry service learning – students learn and develop through active contribution in thoughtfully prepared service that meets the needs of a community eco-adventure – students learn and develop physically, emotionally, and intellectually while being fully immersed in the natural environment.

Some highlights of the 2013 program included:

College admissions

High-performing SAS seniors are admitted to some of the most selective institutions in the United States. Members of the classes of 2010 to 2013 are attending such highly regarded schools such as Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, New York University, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of Chicago, UC-Berkeley, UCLA, University of Southern California, Purdue University, Williams College, University of Michigan Ann Arbor and Yale University. Outside the U.S., students are at Cambridge and Oxford in the U.K., Waseda in Japan, and Queen's, McGill, and Toronto in Canada.

Every year, nearly 300 admissions officers from colleges and universities around the world visit SAS so that students can learn about their institutions. College planning begins early in high school as grade 9 students select appropriately challenging courses and find success both in and out of the classroom. At the end of grade 10, students and parents attend the SAS College Admission Seminar where they learn about selecting and applying to university. Counseling continues during the junior year when students and parents have one-on-one appointments with an SAS counselor to formulate a list of prospective schools and develop an application strategy. The process of applying to college is facilitated during the senior year by world-class counselors, several who have held leadership positions in international college admission organizations.[7]

Extracurriculars

As part of the SAS education, students participate in extracurriculars. Many student-run and school-run clubs and organizations exist on campus, acknowledging a wide spectrum of interests.

Athletics

Within the high school, boys and girls' junior varsity and varsity teams exist for cross country, soccer, volleyball, golf, basketball, rugby, swimming, tennis, touch rugby, badminton, softball, and track and field. Athletes compete not only with local schools and community teams, but also with rival IASAS schools.

Following the conclusion of the spring IASAS tournaments, intramural sports are also offered. These activities vary yearly based on student demand and faculty interest.

Community service

An annual Service Assembly held in the fall of every school year allows students to know more about the service clubs available at SAS — all of the service clubs are predominantly student-run, offering leadership opportunities within each club. Some of the biggest service clubs in the high school include SAVE (Students Against Violating the Environment), Habitat for Humanity, Peace Initiative (a club dedicated to human rights and the education of children),Global Issues Network and Wish for Kids (which hosts a yearly service trip for students and teachers to work with the children of Maravilla Elementary School, Philippines.) In addition to Wish for Kids, there are many other clubs, such as the Bintan Club, Aiding China, and Outreach Vietnam, that take trips to nearby countries to perform further service. Also, for the 2012-2013 school year, Kiva Club, granted service status in the 2011-2012 school year, will be a student-led club that will aim to raise, in collaboration with Business Club,[8] money and lend the money in the form of micro-financing to help in injecting liquidity into poverty-stricken villages.[9] Details on how funds are raised and the philosophy of Kiva Club is constantly updated on their website from August 2012.[8]

Academic interests and honor societies

Academic clubs at SAS include Business Club,[8] Debate, which runs its own research library[10][11] and has an award winning debate team, Math Club (which allows students to compete in the Southeast Asian Math Competition), Academic Quiz, Digital Frontiers, Speech Club, and Model United Nations (a student-led simulation of the United Nations where each student represents a nation). Impromptu speaking, extemporaneous speaking, debate, and oral interpretation are also offered under the yearly IASAS Cultural Convention (includes Extemporaneous speaking, Impromptu, Oral Interpretations and Drama) giving students a chance to compete with others in their area of interest.

In addition to open-participation student clubs, selection-based honor societies exist at SAS, providing high-achieving students recognition for their talents. The honor societies present at the school are French Honor Society, Mandarin Honor Society, Japanese Honor Society, National Honor Society, Quill and Scroll Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, International Thespian Society, National Art Honor Society and Tri-M (Modern Music Masters).[12]

Fine and Performing Arts

Fine and performing arts clubs within the school include A-Capella Club, Animation Club, Dance Club, Dead Artists' Society (a club for those interested in art), Jazz Ensemble, Photography Club, Technical Theatre Club and Theatre Make-Up Club. Drama is also prominent at the school, offering thespians many opportunities to perform, whether it be in the fall production (musicals and plays alternate each year), student-directed shows, Cultural Convention or the annual Scenes and Monologues Night.

Other activities

Other extracurriculars offered at SAS include student government, language clubs (Cantonese, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and Taiwanese), and small-scale athletic clubs such as Aikido, Climbing Club, and Golf.[13]

Facilities/Food

Following the conclusion of a three-year expansion project in 2005, the 37-acre (150,000 m2) SAS campus has been divided into four divisions: the Primary School (including the Early Childhood Center), Intermediate School, Middle School, and High School.[14]-

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Singapore American School U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "Link Lookup" (PDF). Sas.edu.sg. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  3. ↑ 2003 Scholastic Crown Recipients Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  4. ↑ "Singapore American School — Good Schools Guide International". Gsgi.co.uk. 2011-05-12. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  5. ↑ "Link Lookup". Sas.edu.sg. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  6. ↑ "Link Lookup". Sas.edu.sg. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  7. ↑ Singapore American School High School Counseling Department Chair
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 http://sasbusinessclub.com/#/
  9. ↑ http://sasbusinessclub.com/#/kivaclub.html
  10. ↑ its own research library
  11. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/?q=#/SingaporeAmericanSchoolDebateClub?ref=hl
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "Link Lookup". Sas.edu.sg. Retrieved 2013-02-08.

External links