Campus Development >>
A Step towards Growth
Cebu International School Campus Renovations
School facilities play a crucial role in the overall education and wellbeing of the students in terms of safety, practicality, and convenience. The new changes made to the Cebu International School (CIS) campus facilities enhanced the lives for students, teachers, parents, the staff, and the whole CIS community. As a junior who has been in CIS since 1st grade, I strongly believe that CIS has strived to efficiently maximize the available spaces within campus area in order to provide the utmost quality of academics and establish a robust sense of community by welcoming everyone. Extensive developments were made including: 1. New library (Resource center) The newly renovated resource center (library) was the biggest change introduced in school year 2016-2017. By utilizing the area previously dedicated for the hallway, IT lab, and the benches, CIS resource center provides a myriad of functions as it can accommodate a larger number of people. By locating the librarian’s area in between the elementary section and the middle high school section, students of all ages can efficiently and conveniently approach the librarians for help and guidance. Due to the increased size of the resource center, the number and scope of resources have also increased correspondingly. Alongside the renovation came numerous additions into the resource center. Firstly, a segregated meeting room, that teachers, staff, and even students can reserve, has been added. Instead of using a wide-open area, in the case of our previous resource center, the meeting room provides privacy as well as intimacy, thus bringing the sense of collaboration and discussion to a higher level. When the meeting room is vacant, students (especially Juniors and Seniors) may reserve the room during study hall, or homerooms/classes may also utilize the meeting room for presentations or discussions. In order to prioritize the students undertaking the IB curriculum, there has been an addition of three study rooms, that can each accommodate 4 to 6 students. At the far side of the resource center, near 26 EARCOS Triannual Journal
the elementary section of the library, a parent room was established. Parents or visitors may use this room when waiting for students or for a meeting. Since the new resource center combines both elementary and middle high school libraries, the previous elementary library located in ELC was removed. Moving on to the next facility change, this area was also renovated into a Common Collaborative Space. 2. Common Collaborative Space for the ELC (Elementary Learning Center) The Common Collaborative Space for the ELC encourages further teamwork and cooperation between students from different grade levels. By establishing a common room that students can easily access to look for their own relevant resources from books, newspapers, magazines, the internet, or through discussions, the Common Collaborative Space pushes the primary school students’ level of independence when looking for information, and aids them for the development of problem-solving skills. Additionally, the communication between teachers from different classes are enhanced due to a common area, where teachers can use to plan for future activities. 3. Repositioning of the Classrooms The repositioning of the classrooms was a highly reasonable and efficient change, due to the convenience provided for students, especially newcomers. Previously, classrooms in CIS were ordered in a random manner; thus it was challenging for new students to locate their assigned classes. As school year 2015-2016 started, CIS has decided to change the locations of the classrooms, in order to create a logical pattern in the placements.The ELC classrooms were arranged so that the youngest learners from Pre School 3 to Grade 2 are on the first floor, and Grades 3-5 on the second floor of the ELC building. The MHS (middle and high school) went through many changes, alongside the renovation of the resource center. This helps teachers and students close in age to access materials and work together. For middle and high school, CIS relocated the classroom
