Suzhou Singapore international school (SSSIS), located in Suzhou industrial park, is a fully authorized IB World School offering continuity of education from Pre-Nursery (2 year olds) to grade 12. SSSIS students represent more than 40 nationalities with a total enrolment of over 1,300. The experienced and qualified staffs from more than 20 countries provide a caring environment to help students learn, grow and succeed.
SSSIS is open to all non-Chinese nationals and is non-selective. The school offers the IB Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme along with a German curriculum for Grade 1 to 4 students and North American style High School Diploma for Grades 9 to 12. SSIS also offers a half-day program for 2-3 year olds with the Little Dragons class.
Chinese is offered throughout the school with a wide variety of other second language and subject options. English language support is provided to students through a comprehensive ESL program. Grades 5-12 participate in an Apple 1-1 laptop program.
Students enjoy a wide range of co-curricular opportunities in a positive environment with outstanding facilities and resources. The excellent facilities include two libraries, 650-seat theatre, several computer suites and technology labs, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, football fields and a 400-meter running track. SSIS participates in several sports organizations (ACAMIS), SISAC, CISSA, and JISSA) and hosts a wide range of sport and other school activities.
Preparing students for an increasingly interconnected globalized world is one of the main goals at SSIS. The school’s excellent academic results are consistently above world average. By helping students reach their full academic potential, SSIS graduates have been accepted by prestigious colleges and universities across the globe including London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, University of California (UCLA), Boston University and the University of Hong Kong.
In 2013, SSIS became one of the fist schools in the world to successfully undertake a joint reaccreditation and evaluation process with International Baccalaureate Organization, Council of International Schools, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and the National Centre for Curriculum and Textbooks simultaneously. At the end of this process, the school received 34 commendations and was described by the accreditation team as “a relective institution committed to promoting internationalism and quality education experiences, which has made impressive progress and meets the needs of its students body while building trust, communication and support with faculty and parents.
Recently the Suzhou Singapore International School (SSSIS) community celebrated the achievements of the Class of 2013.
The Class of 2013 was SSIS’s largest ever-graduating class. As a group they achieved outstanding results including receiving an average score of 34 out of 45 (the world average was 29). Fifteen Percent received a grade of 40 and above and half of the class obtained a bilingual diploma. Shimmona Chen and Yong Ho Kim both received the Class of 2013’s highest score of 43. The community and the students themselves were justifiably proud of their achievements.
However, a student should not be judged on their academic results alone. The SSIS vision is to enable students to be self-motivated, lifelong learners, who value other cultures and are responsible, meaningful participants in the international community.
One student who exemplifies this is Yong Suk Yoon. Yong Suk joined the SSIS community from Korea in 2009. He is currently in Grade 12 undertaking the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). Earlier this year Yong Suk won a Global Citizenship Community Award. This award is presented to a student who embraces the qualities of a global citizen by the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS), an organization of 136 member schools in East Asia. Young Suk received the award for two projects; Brain Box and Bo Ai, which he undertook as part of the IBDP Community, Action and Service requirements.
The Brain Box project linked younger students struggling with mathematics and science with IBDP students as mentors. It was greatly successful scheme that connected students of different ages and nationalities, enhancing a sense of community within the school.
“This was the first time I had actually organized and planned something like this” said Young Suk. “I like to help other students with math and science as I like these subjects. It also helped to relieve my academic stress as it gave me something to focus on.”
“The students could get help with their homework or prepare for a test but they could also do logic puzzles and other Mensa games. They could also use their creativity and have fun with math and science.
“Of course. I don’t know everything in either math or science but I wanted to teach other students. I knew this would help me a lot as well because basically if I teach students, I learn as well.”
Young Suk also led a group of SSIS students to the local children’s home, Bo Ai. Young Suk regularly gave up part of each weekend to spend time with the children who don’t have families. Both the students, and the children they visited, were greatly touched by this experience of sharing.
“When I was in grade 8 and 9 I went to Tiger Hill Orphanage to take care of children who have physical and mental disabilities” Young Suk recalled. “Once I tried this I was really happy because I like to help children and play with them. I decided to join the Bo Ai visits because I knew these children were lonely because of their disabilities.”
“Initially I was kind of afraid and felt awkward. The children were hard to manage and it was tiring. However, after a while it became fun. They were no longer strangers. They were friends.
“When we visit Bo Ai we prepare different activities for the children such as drawing, dancing, making masks and origami, it is great to help make the Bo Ai children really happy.
“Through my involvement in this group I realized that disabled people in the world should not be discriminated against. They are people. They can work. They can be your friends too.”
EARCOS made a small grant in recognition of Young Suk’s award. This money was donated to Bo Ai to help buy equipment and undertake necessary maintenance work. Young Suk went back with a group of students to help distribute these resources.
Young Suk’s projects exemplify the spirit of active community engagement that SSIS prizes as a school; one enriching the school community, the other strengthening the school’s place in the local community.
For SSIS students, achievement can come in many forms, weather it is through achieving academic excellence or by becoming responsible, meaningful participants in the international community. Both are equally important. SSIS is achieving its mission of providing an excellent international education.
Address: 208 Zhong Nan Jie, SIP
Tel: 0512 6258 0388
Email: [email protected]