SAS FOUNDATION
IMPACT REPORT 2019-20
EDITORIAL TEAM Crickett Kasper Aisling O’Brien Sarizan Ahmad Mariana Alvarado
CONTRIBUTORS Martha Began Jared Bildfell Ryan Bruce Jason Cone Nanette Devens Darin Fahrney Tina Forbush Jennifer Foss Renee Green David Hoss Charlotte Huston Stacey Jensen Tracy Nagesh Heather Rodocker Dennis Steigerwald Justin Teves Lisa Wan Amy Zuber Meehan
contact sasfoundation@sas.edu.sg
Thank you for making a gift to Singapore American School You have made a difference. SAS is grateful to our donor community who contributed more than S$1.5 million in gifts between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. As you will read in this report, philanthropy funds day-to-day initiatives as well as big-picture opportunities that support the school’s three strategic focus areas: Excellence Extraordinary Care Possibilities Because of this, philanthropy is vitally important to SAS and allows us to strengthen our position as a world leader in international education. Thank you, again, for your generosity.
Join us in supporting the people, places, and programs that make SAS extraordinary! To make your gift online, please go to:
THA NKY OU!
THANK YOU
every GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE impact of your giving to singapore american school Thank you to our donor community who made the 2019-20 school year a great success for philanthropy at Singapore American School. Your gift makes a difference! Over 1,100 families, including current and former parents, teachers, and alumni made the choice to support our school in this way. Participation among current parents in our annual giving program reached 22 percent, and faculty and staff participation reached 60 percent. Contributions to SAS are vital in supporting our community and helping us deliver the exceptional education for which SAS is celebrated. We hope you will take some time to read this report and celebrate the progress we are making at SAS with the support of your philanthropy. We also hope that you will continue to support the school by participating in annual giving this year. Together, the support of our entire community makes a difference at SAS. Our legacy of extraordinary care started with families like yours; and today, it is your family which is at the heart of our community. Thank you!
TOM BOASBERG SUPERINTENDENT SINGAPORE AMERICAN SCHOOL
CRICKETT KASPER CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER SINGAPORE AMERICAN SCHOOL
G. Raymond ZAGE III CHAIR SAS FOUNDATION LTD. SINGAPORE
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excellence
every student learns at high levels
excellence
every student learns at high levels Elementary School Chinese Immersion The elementary Chinese immersion program started in the 2017-18 school year with its initial cohort in Kindergarten. The Chinese immersion program was launched with two immersion kindergarten classes in that year. These classes continue to advance through the elementary school each academic year bringing the initial cohort to the third grade. Our learning model starts with a 75 percent Chinese/25 percent English model and will grow into a true 50/50 bilingual program as it transitions into fourth and fifth grades. The continued expansion and development of this program is made possible by the generosity of our donors. Philanthropic support of the Chinese immersion program enables SAS to procure Chinese literacy materials and books comparable to the materials that one might find in an English classroom or library. We are also able to provide support for cultural events, enhanced activities across the program, and purchase other necessary materials. One hundred and seventy five students, eight teachers, and eight instructional assistants who make up the immersion classroom benefit from the extra support that giving provides to the program. The program is now gaining international recognition for its effective approach to immersion learning.
We are thankful to our generous donors because philanthropic support of the Chinese immersion program enables SAS to procure Chinese literacy materials, provide support for cultural events, and enhance activities across the program. Lisa Wan Elementary School Deputy Principal
Schoolwide Visitors-in-Residence The visitors-in-residence program at SAS is completely funded by giving to SAS, including a substantial donation from our SAS Parent Teacher Association (PTA). The program brings internationally recognized authors, illustrators, artists, musicians, playwrights, actors, and dance professionals to campus to work with students. The program allows students to deeply understand the craft and work of world renowned professionals and helps us deliver on our SAS vision of cultivating exceptional thinkers who are prepared for the future. This year our students learned alongside authors, dancers, poets, and playwrights. Twenty authors and artists worked with our students both virtually and in person. These talented professionals worked within the classroom curriculum and in co-curricular realms to support our students’ learning. All grade levels were able to interact with the artists in a variety of venues including workshops, writing circles, and performances. High school students heard from Marie-Christine Nibagwire, a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Her story helped students consider the power of personal narrative, how environment influences values, and the complexities of international relations. Middle school students were visited by Kari Anne Holt (K.A. Holt). During her two week residency, she shared insights into her books and writing process with our middle school students. All sixth grade students crafted poetry and narratives with Ms. Holt in a series of interactive writing workshops and more than 500 students were provided the opportunity to improve their art skills. When students learn the “inside stories” and ideas behind an artist’s work, they cannot help but be drawn to them. Students identify with the struggles and joys of the creative process because they hear about it directly from the artist. Authors become real to students, opening up relationships with the books they read. Our students greatly appreciate these incredible experiences, made possible by giving at SAS. 8
Middle School Dance Philanthropic support is essential to our dance program in middle school. Giving allowed the program to purchase equipment used by students to improve their strength, flexibility, balance, and spatial awareness. The acro rollers provide great plyometric jumping challenges, the massage trigger point release balls are a hit after the PE mile run, and the balance balls make prepping for technical pirouettes fun! This equipment is vital in keeping our dancers safe and building their foundation as strong dancers. These giving-funded resources are used daily and extensively by the team for specific warm-up, conditioning, or learning tricks. Students are able to run, jump, play, roll, and flip safely. The equipment also makes dance accessible to students of all shapes, sizes and genders creating an inclusive learning environment. Students enjoy using the equipment so much that they do not even realize that we are working on strength and conditioning! Over 450 students use this equipment and benefit from the support of the dance program through 16 curricular classes and an extra curricular dance program.
Philanthropic support is essential to our dance program in middle school. Giving allowed the program to purchase equipment used by students to improve their strength, flexibility, balance, and spatial awareness. It makes dance accessible to students of all shapes, sizes and genders creating an inclusive learning environment. Heather Rodocker MIDDLE SCHOOL Dance Director
Athletics, Activities, and Clubs Elementary School In the elementary school, giving supported a cross-section of activities that provide multiple and varied opportunities for our students. These funds allow for flexibility in supporting one-off programs or events for our students to participate in a unique learning experience. Funds supported our end of year field days for each of the elementary grade levels. This is a half-day event where students are able to access the large football field and participate in a variety of fun games and challenge opportunities. The funds also supported cultural events such as the Chinese lion dance performance. Almost 2,000 elementary students were treated to a lion dance performance by an award winning troupe. They made multiple performances across the campus for all of our students to enjoy. Students benefited by being able to participate in highly engaging and non-typical classroom activities. Parents were appreciative of the cultural opportunities that were made available to students through these donations, which will continue to fund special opportunities that make our elementary students’ experience at SAS unique. Middle School Donor funds support the middle school activities and athletics department which oversees all sports, clubs, and events that occur after regular school hours. Sports, performing arts, service clubs, and clubs with an academic focus all benefit tremendously from this support. Funds are used to purchase athletic equipment, pay for entry fees to sports events, and pay for new uniforms for our sports teams. In addition, we also purchased supplies, equipment, and materials needed for clubs and activities to function effectively. Donor support of the middle school activities and athletics allows SAS to offer a world class program. Last year, the department was able to purchase track and field equipment for all middle school students, cover ACSIS entry fees for 34 teams of over 500 athletes, and create and distribute promotional materials for middle school events. Thanks to the philanthropic support from SAS community members, students are able to pursue their passions, compete in interscholastic competitions, and access top notch facilities. This additional financial support allows teachers to implement activities effectively. 9
Thanks to the philanthropy of SAS community members, students are able to pursue their passions, compete in interscholastic competitions, and access top notch facilities. This additional financial support allows teachers to implement activities effectively. Jared Bildfell MIDDLE SCHOOL Activities & Athletics Director
High School The high school offers a wide variety of programs across the arts, activities and athletic pursuits. The programs offer high quality instruction, equipment, and facilities. The program offers students interscholastic opportunities both on and off the island. With support from donors, we are able to provide much more than tuition alone can cover. In athletics, donations supported the school in hosting an additional event during the second IASAS. As well as the purchase of additional equipment that provides athletes with additional feedback through technology and allows our coaches to focus on other areas of instruction. In the arts and activities, funding supported experiences, guest speakers, conductors, artists and coaches. Last year, 530 students participated in high school athletics, 804 students participated in high school clubs, and 410 students in activities and the arts. All of these students benefited from the philanthropic support provided by our community of donors.
High School Awards Every year, SAS holds an all-school awards ceremony to celebrate students’ commitment to the school’s values, vision and desired student learning aspirations. In the high school, 15 awards, falling into two categories based on our learning aspirations and our core values, are given to over 100 students. By honoring our students, we celebrate, spotlight, and reinforce the direction of the division. In most cases, students who receive a named award are introduced by a faculty or staff member who knows the student well, while the Outstanding Graduate Award is announced by the high school principal at the awards ceremony, and by the superintendent at Commencement. Thanks to the support of generous donors, several seniors receive a monetary gift along with their award, which we hope will help them in their future educational endeavors. Blair Sonnenberg Award Established in memory of Blair Sonnenberg, an SAS student who passed away in 1996, this award is given to the graduating senior who has embraced cultural competence by devoting time, energy, and talent to actively seek understanding and improve the quality of life of others. The award prize of $1,500 is made possible by an endowment created by Blair Sonnenberg’s family, teachers, former classmates, and other members of our community. Last year’s recipient, Satvik Jain, was recognized as a positive role model who embraces diversity and tolerance and demonstrates through words and deeds that every individual has intrinsic value. The teacher who delivered the award, had this to say about Satvik: “His sincere attention to the stories of those that he serves make SJ the definition of a service leader and give us all hope for humanity’s next chapter.” Burdell-Wood Student-Athletes Awards The Burdell-Wood Scholar-Athlete Award annually honors two graduating seniors—one male and one female—whose academic and athletic careers have been exemplary, whose personal standards and achievements are a model to others, and who possess high levels of integrity, self-discipline, and courage. The award prize of $750 is made possible through gifts to SAS by Mr. Frank Burdell, Jr., Mrs. Kay Wood, the SAS Booster Club, the American Association, and other interested friends. 10
Connor O’Gorman Cornerstone Awards The Connor O’Gorman Cornerstone Awards annually honor members of our SAS community— students, faculty, and staff—who live the Eagle Way. As Eagles, they exhibit and model our core values of compassion, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect. The award prize of $200 is supported by a donation to Singapore American School. Recipients are selected by the Student Council and publicly announced and presented to the entire high school student body. Last year’s recipients were: Joy Jaensubhakij, Liam Murgatroyd, Alexandra Mulqueen, and Ziqi Li. David Hevey Award The David Hevey Award honors the late David Hevey and his lasting contributions as an SAS film teacher and faculty member by celebrating a student who demonstrates creativity and communication skills through the photographic arts. The award is given annually to a graduating senior. The award prize of $1,500 is made possible by a generous donation to Singapore American School. Last year’s recipient, Kevin Kapoor, is the founding member of Studio41 and was passionate in promoting film making all over campus. He was recognized as a model of courtesy, integrity, and resourcefulness.
Thanks to the support of generous donors, several seniors receive a monetary gift along with the high school awards, which we hope will help them in their future educational endeavors. By honoring our students, we celebrate, spotlight, and reinforce the direction of the division. Amy Zuber Meehan HIGH SCHOOL Deputy Principal Outstanding Catalyst Award The Catalyst project gives high school students a self-study opportunity to pursue their own paths of exploration in an academic setting. Through their work, they demonstrate their readiness for university learning and the full extent of their enthusiasm, autonomy, and capacity. The Catalyst Award is presented to the graduate who has demonstrated exceptional levels of leadership, thinking, and potential within their Catalyst Project. The award prize of $500 is supported by a donation to Singapore American School. Last year’s recipient Raghav Narayanswamy researched, designed, prototyped, and sought feedback from his mentor, to build a working solar-powered plant-watering system. Scott Seator Ambassador Award The Scott Seater Ambassador Award was established in memory of Scott Seator (Class of 1987) and is given annually to the senior who has demonstrated the kind of critical thinking needed to solve our world’s most difficult problems and who has been involved in other cultures and contributed to making the world a better place. The award of $1,500 is made possible by an endowment created by Scott Seator’s family, teachers, former classmates, and other members of our community. Last year’s recipient, Rohit Narayanan, is a member of Model United Nations, debate, robotics, and an Honor Society contributor. He was recognized for his creativity and commitment in transforming difficulties into elegant solutions, demonstrated involvement in other cultures, significant contributions to the global community, and commitment to making the world a better place. Taylor Saich Award The Taylor Saich was established in memory of Taylor Saich of the SAS Class of 1999 and is given to a senior who enriches the lives of others through dedication to the arts or other creative pursuits. Taylor’s family, faculty, parents, and interested members of the SAS community set up this $500 award in his memory. Last year’s recipient was graduating senior Lauren Lee. Lauren is a dancer and actress, who sees the arts and creativity as an important part of a balanced life and has shared this passion with others through performances on the stage and other creative pursuits. She was recognized for helping to make creativity a visible and integral part of intellectual and cultural life at SAS. 11
EXTRAORDINARY CARE
EVERY STUDENT IS KNOWN AND ADVOCATED FOR
EXTRAORDINARY CARE
EVERY STUDENT IS KNOWN AND ADVOCATED FOR HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE COUNSELING Last year, philanthropic support provided a myriad of training and professional development opportunities for the seven college counselors at SAS. It has long been the goal of the college counseling office to send each of the seven SAS college counselors to at least one conference or one week of campus visits every year. Attendance at conferences allows college counselors to stay up to date with best practices in the field, learn new information about college admissions, and develop further relationships with college counselors and admissions office deans, directors, and representatives from around the world. Presenting at conference sessions and representing International ACAC at voting sessions of the largest professional body in our field (NACAC) give college counselors the opportunity to enhance Singapore American School’s reputation as a leader in the field. Thanks to philanthropy at SAS, two college counselors presented at the International Association of College Admission Counseling Conference (ACAC) on the campus of Western University in London, Ontario. Another college counselor, who is a member of the International ACAC Executive Board, attended the National Association of College Admission Counseling Conference (NACAC) in Louisville, Kentucky. College counselors also attended the CIS-EARCOS conference in Bangkok and the College Board Forum conference in Washington, DC. Giving also allowed college counselors the opportunity to visit University of Virginia, University of William & Mary, University of Louisville, London School of Economics, King’s College London, Richmond University in London, and University College London. Visiting college campuses in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia is crucial for high school college counseling’s work with students and families. These visits allow SAS to form strategic relationships with college admission representatives and to bring back first-hand information about college campuses for our students. This information, in turn, allows students to make better decisions as they create and refine the lists of schools to which they plan to apply. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic brought our ability to visit colleges and attend conferences in person to an abrupt halt in February 2020. The college counselors continue to maintain strategic relationships with university partners through webinars, Zoom calls, phone calls, virtual tours, and virtual college information sessions.
House and Advisory Middle School The house and advisory systems ensure that every student is known, cared for, and guided; to make our big school feel small; to expose students to solving real-world problems; and to strengthen students’ sense of identity and belonging. Through the support of our donors we were able to improve our students’ experiences by strengthening the program in the middle school. Giving to SAS allowed us to purchase supplies for an advisory activity where the grade seven advisories made thank you cards. Students created thank you cards to express their gratitude to faculty and staff who were helping to keep us safe as the crisis around COVID-19 emerged. It was a meaningful social-emotional learning (SEL) lesson for our students, but it was also rewarding for our housekeeping staff to receive those and be reminded how deeply they are appreciated. 14
Prizes for houses and advisories that participated in spirit building activities were also purchased. Additionally, funds were used to buy house shirts for new teachers and students who entered SAS midyear. With the support of our donors, 960 students were inspired to participate in these activities and 15 teachers received new house shirts. These projects have helped to support the SEL of our students through the development of our advisory program and have continued to entrench house as an important part of our community and students’ sense of belonging.
Gifts to SAS enable us to support the social-emotional learning of our students through the development of our advisory program and to entrench house as an important part of our community and students’ sense of belonging. Ryan Bruce Middle School Dean of Student Life
High School The school year of 2019-20 saw the resurgence of the emphasis on house. We introduced Heads of House and made the program more visible. The House Committee arm of the Student Council (StuCo) worked hard to find ways to promote representation and aimed to create merchandise that would help students participate more actively in house activities. StuCo embarked on a design competition. There was a lot of excitement about the sweatshirts and a good deal of planning to make them appealing for students. Some of these efforts were curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the initiative helped highlight the importance of house identification. Gifts to SAS supported the production of the sweatshirts and were also used to purchase holiday treats for houses. Giving to SAS has helped us lay the foundation for building a stronger house identity for our students. Both the sweatshirts and the treats were distributed by house and helped people identify with their groups. As we continue to build togetherness and belonging for our students we are deeply grateful for the support of our community of donors.
Giving to SAS has helped us lay the foundation for building a stronger house identity for our students. As we continue to build togetherness and belonging for our students we are deeply grateful for the support of our community of donors. Renee Green HIGH SCHOOL Dean of Student Life
The high school advisory program has four main themes: making connections (grade nine), balance (grade ten), life skills (grade eleven), and transitions (grade twelve). This year, through philanthropic support, the program acquired additional resources that will allow us to meet our objectives related to these themes. Gifts to SAS enabled us to purchase interactive games, yoga mats, meditation pillows, athletic equipment, supplies for cooking and washing up, and ironing boards and irons. Every advisory group has access to these games, equipment, and materials, and thus, every current and future high school student has opportunities to use these resources to work towards the advisory themes and objectives. 15
The support received for the advisory program allows our educators to continue exploring opportunities and resources that support our current and future students’ social-emotional wellness and learning.
We are very grateful for the donations we have received for the advisory program, and we continue to explore opportunities and resources that support our current and future students’ social-emotional wellness and learning. Thank you, donors! Stacey Jensen High school Teacher and Advisory Leader
Schoolwide Social Emotional Leadership At SAS, social-emotional learning (SEL) is embedded within services and programs schoolwide to foster students relationships with their teachers and each other. In order to best support our students in this developing area, a group of educators sought to build their own knowledge prior to initiating their plan for instruction. They knew the best way to approach this was as a collaborative effort. Philanthropic funds enabled ten teachers, deans, and school leaders to obtain a Certificate in School Leadership for SEL and character development through the Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools. They collaborated to create advisory lessons and provide social emotional instruction. They shared the units and lessons with all teachers ensuring that all students could benefit. The deans also expanded their knowledge of restorative practices and broadened the way they support students with behavior needs. Support for this initiative has fostered the collaboration necessary to create a thread to tie student SEL learning together. At each grade level, students now have a common experience in advisories or during responsive classroom meetings putting social and emotional learning at the core of all learning at SAS.
Schoolwide Response to Intervention for International Schools Summit SAS’s excellence is sustained due to the quality of our educators who constantly seek professional development opportunities in different areas of teaching. Responding to student needs is a common part of instruction and it is done best when it is done in partnership with other teachers. Instructional practices and systems of support are continually developing and it is important for teachers to be able to stay current in their pedagogy. This year, thanks to giving by members of the SAS community, ten teachers attended the Response to Intervention for International Schools Summit. Teachers attended workshops on tiered literacy and math instruction, universal screening of students, and data analysis. They worked with the rest of the learning support team to build systems to support all students, including those who need additional help. School leaders met with peers from other schools to learn new systems of support. Additionally, SAS also took a leadership role in the development of the conference and hosted one of the presenters. Upon returning to SAS, the participants of the conference shared their learnings with their SAS teammates. The learnings and discussions that came out of the conference led to the decision to conduct a program review of learning support and how Response to Intervention is implemented at SAS. The renewal process is underway and will recommend ways all teachers can support instruction in the classroom for all students.
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High School Executive Service Council The service-learning community, Service Council (ServCo), is composed of more than 60 studentrun and led service clubs and projects under the Executive Service Council’s facilitation and faculty sponsors’ guidance. Service clubs are dedicated to supporting humanitarian and environmental causes. The Executive Service Council requested and was granted funds donated to SAS to support the Service Scholarship fund to benefit high school service clubs conducting community service projects. Funds supported the new rooftop garden, advocacy for humanitarian focused clubs working with marginalized women, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Overall, six high school service clubs were granted funds, 60 clubs and five projects benefit from ESC funds, and two-thirds of high school students engaged in and were actively involved in service activities. Although COVID-19 restrictions dampened direct service this year, ServCo students have continued to serve through advocacy and fundraising. Student leaders generated creative ways to promote awareness for their causes while fundraising, holding Zoom conferences to connect with each other, and service-partners. Gawad Kalinga held a Minecraft tournament instead of the Zombie Run and a 24-hour live-stream music event. Global Issues Network held a regional InGINuity Conference via Zoom, Wish for Kids held an Among Us event, RISE made origami grams, Metta Home started a journalism project, SAVE nursed rainforest trees, and SEED built rooftop planter boxes.
Schoolwide Diversity and inclusion Philanthropic support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has been integral in providing our faculty and staff with training in this important area. Gifts to SAS were used primarily to bring external consultants and presenters to help shape our discourse about DEI at SAS. This included training and consultant guidance to help us understand what DEI means in our context as well as how we might create a DEI statement that guides our school’s approach to this important topic going forward. As our school works to deliver on our vision of cultivating exceptional thinkers who are prepared for the future, no area needs more immediate attention than DEI. For our students to be truly prepared, our educators must also be ready to navigate this work alongside them. Giving to SAS enabled us to hold thirty educator workshops, host sixteen external presenters on a myriad of DEI topics, and allow 600 SAS educators and staff to participate in DEI programs. Our students were also able to participate in lead workshops on the importance of DEI work, and provide recommendations on inclusion practices to SAS educators.
Elementary School Sue Barber Memorial Sue Barber, a former second grade teacher, passed away unexpectedly at the start of the 2018-19 school year. Sue had been at the school for many years and left a legacy with her extraordinary caring personality, great teaching, and a fun-loving nature. To honor her legacy, a group of SAS families came together to make a gift to build a reading nook in the second grade group room. The nook will serve as a memorial for Sue and honor the impact she had on her students and within the learning community at SAS. The nook will also support students and their literacy learning. As well as supporting the purchase of furnishings for the reading nook, the gift also supported the purchase of literacy materials that would be specially placed within the reading nook. 17
possibilities
EVERY STUDENT PERSONALIZES THEIR LEARNING
possibilities
EVERY STUDENT PERSONALIZES THEIR LEARNING Robotics Elementary School and Middle School The FIRST LEGO League Competition Afterschool Preparation Program (FLLCAPP) had another successful year thanks to continued funding and support from generous donors to SAS. The program had seven teams of five students from grades four through six as well as three coaches, Dan Gach, Jill Carpenter, and Gabe Haydu. For the competition, the students needed to prepare, research, and innovate solutions around the year’s given theme, as well as build and code autonomous robots using EV3 and/or Spike Prime kits to complete missions on a competition table. The laptops, robots, missions and mats, and team fees add up, and giving by our SAS families goes a long way in helping the program have up-to-date equipment and be fully prepared for the competition. Gifts have also been used to build proper competition tables for the mats as well as purchasing team t-shirts allowing our teams to form strong bonds and team identities.
Students benefited by being able to participate in highly engaging and non-typical classroom activities. Parents were appreciative of the cultural opportunities that were made available to students through these donations, which will continue to fund special opportunities that make our elementary students’ experience at SAS unique. David Hoss Elementary SCHOOL Principal The robotics program has grown in success each year with an SAS team finally bringing home the overall championship award in the 2019-20 school year despite challenging times with the pandemic and circuit breaker. Beyond awards, students learn many important skills including teamwork, leadership, research, and public speaking. The students often put in over 100 hours of work in the course of a season, and so many students have walked away transformed by the experience. Many of them go on to continue robotics into middle school and high school, which is our ultimate goal and proudest achievement. Our hope is that we can continue to run a strong, successful elementary school program that produces excited, motivated students who are keen to continue their passion of competitive robotics into the upper schools here at SAS. This year we have begun a high school mentorship program where each elementary school team has a high school student mentor to help guide them through a long season. Several of the mentors are former students from our program. With continued support from donations to SAS, we look forward to continuing to build strong foundational competitive robotics from the elementary division all the way to the high school. Middle School Donor support for the middle school robotics program was fundamental in supporting the continued operation of the program. Giving allowed us to purchase critical equipment including robotics kits, play fields, parts and materials, and to cover competition registration for teams. With the continued success of robotics across the school from elementary to middle to high school, we continue to see more students interested and growth in all divisions. For the middle school this meant that we expanded the program with more teams, more coaches, and more competitions.
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Giving to SAS enabled the school to support staffing of coaches, more materials and play fields, and partnering with Null Space to provide support for our middle school robotics clubs. The growth of our middle school robotics program has a direct impact on the success of our high school program. The middle school VexIQ Challenge Club was formed out of interested students (and parents) who are keen to participate in robotics competitions. The VexIQ robotic system has a range of local and international robotics competitions, and the participation of students in these events builds upon the elementary school competitive robotics events and leads to students being able to transition into the wide variety of robotics systems and competitions in high school. In 2019-20, the club fielded three teams on-campus, with a fourth middle school team being run off-campus. Each team had a roster of five to seven students, from grades six through eight. Donations to SAS were used to purchase VexIQ robotics kits, additional and spare parts, tournament fields, and competition game pieces. Giving also supported the registration of teams into competitions. Additionally, the club was supported by a number of high school students, who mentored the teams on engineering concepts, coding and tournament strategy and preparation. This mentoring aspect is invaluable and really helps build a feeling of ‘a student club’. Our middle school teams competed in a regional qualifying tournament held here in Singapore. The tournament was both fun and challenging. A highlight was that one of our teams earned qualification to the VexIQ World Championship, which is held in Kentucky, USA each year. Unfortunately, the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, we are proud of our students in achieving at this level, and grateful for the funds that support their learning. High School More than 150 students benefited last year from donations to the high school robotics program, including students from Introductory Robotics, Robotics Science, the Robotics club, and even Catalyst. The program was able to purchase machines that have created opportunities for students in Catalyst to greatly improve the quality of their practical projects through individual prototyping and on-site manufacturing. Robotics incorporates a wide variety of students covering the entire academic spectrum. Classes and clubs typically participate in at least four international robotics competitions. Several critical pieces of machinery were purchased last year thanks to gifts made to SAS. These include a wide bed CNC milling machine and a combined metalworking mill and lathe. We also purchased two carbon fiber 3D printers, which enable students to create nearly unbreakable parts such as spacers, gear boxes, and motor mounts. These machines allow students to make precision parts, and greatly reduce waiting time and shipping costs. The support of your donations has greatly improved the students’ capabilities for practical innovative design. With increased use of computer aided design in the development of their robots, the students are now able to design bespoke parts, create prototypes immediately, refine their design if needed and then print or mill the final part in industrial quality materials in-house, something that would have been impossible previously. By enabling these purchases, your gifts have hugely advanced the possibilities throughout robotics. As both the CNC milling machine and the carbon fibre 3D printers are digitally based, a great deal more of the students coming through robotics are expanding their knowledge in computer aided design. Having the opportunity to physically see these machines in use opens the student’s eyes to the infinite possibilities that they provide, giving inspiration to take their designs further. This year, due to COVID-19, the students were only able to travel to one competition in Taipei. Twenty students and two coaches attended, while 15 club students were trained on new machinery.
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Elementary School Creativity Center Thanks to the continuous funding and support from our SAS donors the Creativity Center has been able to reach more students and offer more creative learning opportunities in the 2019-20 school year than ever before. The center offers a variety of activities such as building blocks, construction toys, games, brain teasers, books, piano, sewing, painting, upcycling and arts and crafts. Students work on individual passion projects as well as large scale elaborate builds, interactive exhibits, and themed workshops. With approximately 200 visits a day it is clear that the students are drawn to the wide variety of material and activities offered and that the warm inviting atmosphere inspires curiosity and exploration. It is evident that students are practicing valuable design and team building skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving. Additionally, they are also forming important friendships while working together over recycled creations and building blocks structures. The Creativity Center is a maker space unlike any other because it teaches creativity with social emotional wellbeing at the heart of every endeavor.
Thanks to the continuous funding and support from our SAS donors the Creativity Center has been able to reach more students and offer more creative learning opportunities than ever before. This would not have been possible without the generous support of the SAS community. Charlotte Huston Creativity Center Specialist This year gifts to SAS allowed the center to upgrade and renovate the space with new shelving, updated cabinets, and a whole new storage system. It can now house and work with an abundance of donated and purchased materials and the students are loving it! During the circuit breaker period, funds were used to acquire the necessary tech to film craft videos for elementary students. Fourteen videos were filmed teaching recycling crafts to the entire elementary division. This would not have been possible without the generous support of the SAS community.
High School Digital Microscopes Thanks to philanthropic support to SAS, the high school science department was able to purchase six digital microscopes, giving students the opportunity to use the same tools that professional scientists use and enhancing the learning related to the relevant science courses. Students use the microscopes in biology, forensic science, zoology, marine biology, and AP biology. With this new technology, teachers are also able to effectively demonstrate and teach the whole class by projecting images or video captured by the microscopes. Our new digital microscopes enable students to capture high quality still images like images of salt crystals, which they were unable to do with previous technology. High quality video recording can capture important biological phenomena, for example osmosis in plant cells. The digital cameras are very easy to use, multiple users can view the same microscope, at the same time on their own phones anywhere in the classroom. This feature has become very utilized and appreciated in light of our new social distancing norms.
Middle School Science Probes In the past year, gifts to SAS enabled the middle school science department to purchase new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) tools for use in science labs which align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) set in the middle school. These standards emphasize STEM skills such as developing models, carrying out investigations, collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting data and using evidence to support explanations as well as constructing arguments from evidence. 22
The collection and use of data can be made more efficient and relevant through the use of science and technology. For example: iPads allow students to develop models and quickly take photos which can then be manipulated via Google Draw or other software. Vernier software and probes allow students to collect data in real time using hands-on investigations rather than online simulations. The ability to use probes which can collect more accurate and detailed data allows students to quickly gather data sets which can be analyzed and interpreted using 21st century STEM skills such as spreadsheets to construct graphs much more quickly and efficiently. Vernier sensors offer the teachers capacity to run demos in class labs which collect data in the same way as an online simulator. The sensors allow the students to conduct hands on labs and use sophisticated state of the art technology to collect data in real time. Teachers can use the user interfaces to run whole class demonstrations as well as carry out longer term experiments which collect data over time and allow students to see the progress.
Middle School and High School Creativity and Innovation with Digital Tools Gifts to SAS were used to support multiple creativity and innovation programs in all divisions. In middle and high school, 500 licenses for Adobe Creative Cloud software were purchased benefitting over 1,000 students each year. This allows classes like middle school digital media, middle school and high school art, high school digital media, and middle school Tri Time to provide powerful professional software to students. Students learn to create and produce with tools like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, and other powerful programs. It supports SAS’s creativity learning aspiration as well as supporting specific skills required for digital video production, digital photography, digital graphic arts, and digital communication.
Schoolwide Speaker Series Giving to SAS funds the SpeakerSeries@SAS. Through this SpeakerSeries, the school hosts experts who address important and timely topics on parenting, child development, and family life. This year, the SpeakerSeries welcomed International speaker, researcher, and psychologist, Dr. Lea Waters to support our community during our difficult transition into circuit breaker. Dr. Waters’ presentation, “How Families Can Stay Strong During Circuit Breaker” addressed how to deal with cabin fever, tips for distance learning and working from home, and creating positive family practices and rituals, among other vital topics. Additional support sessions were held to help families through the challenging lock down period. Dr. Waters’s work with health and emotions continues to be a valuable asset for our community. Strategies shared during her sessions have frequently emerged in discussions with students, teachers, and families attempting to navigate distance learning challenges.
High School Advanced Topic Advanced Topic (AT) courses give SAS students learning opportunities that are relevant, align to the desired student learning aspirations, and are recognized by colleges as a part of a rigorous and challenging course of study so they can successfully apply to best fit colleges, including the world’s most selective schools. High school AT funds have been used to support strategic partnering where instructors work directly with college professors and experts from relevant fields to develop resources and co-teach lessons, further develop instructors college level knowledge and instructional skills, and purchase necessary resources. Gifts to the annual fund supported the development and integration of college level learning opportunities for students that are relevant, aligned to the desired student learning aspirations, and recognized by colleges. Last year alone, 158 students in the high school enrolled in an AT course and six faculty attended training and mentorship programs related to AT. The training and mentorship has helped our faculty to work collaboratively with university partners to develop college level learning opportunities while students have benefitted from working with college professors and experts from relevant fields during class. 23
SAS OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT 40 Woodlands Street 41 Singapore 738547 • +65 6360 6334 • sasfoundation@sas.edu.sg • www.sas.edu.sg/giving CPE Registration Number: 196400340R • Registration Period: 22 June 2017 to 21 June 2023 Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)