Seoul International School SIS offers a rigorous curriculum designed to uniquely prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Seoul International School (SIS) was founded in 1973 and has been located on its present 8 acre campus since 1985. We are a college preparatory day school offering a full American curriculum to students Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12. The school is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Our campus is situated in the southern part of Seoul, not far from the 1988 Olympic Park site and is easily accessible via automobile, subway or bus transportation from downtown Seoul. All instruction is in English and classroom resources, textbooks, technology are in abundant supply to assist teachers in the delivery of daily lessons. SIS has adopted a set of common curriculum standards and benchmarks, based on the USA National Standards in all subjects and grade levels. Teachers use the Atlas Curriculum Mapping software program to manage and align the curriculum (K-12), and Edline is an important part of the communication link that the school uses to inform both students and parents of ongoing progress. High School The high school enrolls approximately 340 students grade 9-12. Academically, the school offers a complete spectrum of courses required for university-bound students and an extensive range of elective courses in Performing & Visual Arts and Information Technology. The high school also offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses in Studio Art, Biology, Computer Science, Calculus (AB and BC), Chemistry, Chinese, Environmental Science, World History, US History, Language Composition, Literature, Physics, Spanish, Statistics, Psychology and 2D Art.
Middle School The Middle School program (Grade 6-8) is specifically designed for to focus on the personal development of each student. Middle School students have an opportunity to choose from electives that include Art, Music, and Enrichment classes. In addition, 8th Grade students may be permitted to take a year-long Spanish or Chinese language course. Students are also encouraged to participate in activities outside of the classroom. A broad range of co-curricular activities are available including sports, musical groups, clubs and community service. Middle school is a unique time in a stu-
dents’ life. It is a time when they transition from childhood to adolescence. Seoul International School understands this phase of the students’ life and endeavors to help make this transition smoother by offering a wide variety of activities balanced with a rigorous academic program. Elementary School The Elementary School is configured JK-Grade 5. The school population is ap p rox i matel y 500 students. Class sizes are normally between 19 and 23 students. Each classroom teacher is responsible for teaching Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science and Health. Elementary Specialists are responsible for teaching Music, Art, P.E./Aquatics, Computer Literacy and Library. All grade levels have specialist classes each day at the same time, allowing for a common preparation time for teachers to meet and plan. SIS also provides Suzuki music lessons to many of the elementary students and a beginners’ band, choir and strings program starts in Grade 5. A variety of physical activities and team sports are available to students.
Junior and Senior Kindergarten students attend a full-day program. ESL and Reading Support is offered for students who are developing English and making adjustments to our curriculum requirements.
Administrators, Resource Personnel and Faculty Of the 103 faculty members, 60% are American, 30% are Canadian and 10% are from the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Korea. More than 60% of the faculty hold a Master’s degree. A master’s degree is available on campus for teachers, through Framingham State University. The administrative staff consists of a Headmaster, a Deputy Headmaster, a Director of Pupil Personnel Services, a Principal for HS, MS and ES, a Director of Admissions, an ES Vice Principal, a Director of Curriculum and Staff Development. Resource staff consists of two full time guidance counselors, a technology coordinator and two coordinators of student activities and athletics. A full time school nurse, two reading specialists and three ESL Specialists are available to students. Full time librarians serve the secondary and the elementary library.
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Students have a great deal of opportunities for achievement at SIS, both in well established, long lasting classes and activities, and in the fact that any SIS students motivated enough can create their own outlets for their passion. -Stephanie Char, Class of 2010
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Daily Life Classes begin daily at 8:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. High School students attend four 80minute periods. Middle School students start their day with a Home Room Enrichment period and rotate through a 5-period day. Elementary classes follow a schedule of core subjects and specials with a morning, lunch and afternoon recess. Catering service is provided by a private company, with a hot lunch program for all students, teachers and staff. The elementary and secondary school libraries are open before and after school for students use. A large number of students are involved with music and speech/debate programs after school as well as athletic programs. These programs run until 5:00 p.m. with students taking the activity buses home.
Academic Facilities The main building was constructed in 1985 on an eight-acre campus. Facilities include two gymnasiums, an indoor 25 M swimming pool, an artificial turf soccer field, and full playgrounds for kindergarten and elementary students. Many pine, chestnut and oak trees enhance the beauty of the oriental-style main building with its traditional Korean tiled roof. The main building includes a 300-seat auditorium, library, multi-purpose room, art classrooms, music rooms with practice rooms, science laboratories, computer rooms, fitness center, gymnasium and cafeteria. The second floor houses an atrium which is used for art and craft displays and small group musical performances. The elementary building has its own gymnasium, library, computer lab, art and music rooms and regular classroom spaces. Both buildings are fully air-conditioned. Technology is an everyday part of life at
SIS. There are in excess of 300 computers in use throughout the school. Each classroom is equipped with fully networked desktops connected to the Internet. As well as designated computer rooms, the use of mobile labs is widespread in the middle school. While SIS is predominately a PC environment, the school has recently embarked on a 1:1 Macbook initiative in the middle school. College Placement An experienced academic counselor advises and assists students through the college application procedures. Also, visits by college representatives and admissions officers give students the opportunity to gather first hand information about specific schools. 100% of SIS graduates go on to higher education; most of them to schools in the United States. With the graduation of the class of 2009, SIS now has an alumni network of 1,656 students. Recent graduates are attending a range of
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The professional and goal oriented culture at SIS gets the most out of teachers and students alike. Maximizing potential is what we do best. -Mr. Gray Macklin, High School Social Studies Teacher
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colleges and universities including Amherst College, Boston College, Boston University, Brown University, Bryn Mawr College, University of California, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Harvard University, Haverford College, University of Illinois, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Middlebury College, Mount Holyoke College, New York University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University, Rhode Island School of Design, Smith College, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, Syracuse University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Tufts University, Washington University, Wellesley College, Williams College, and Vanderbilt University. Students Students have a direct say in the operation of the school through two very active student councils, one for HS and the other for MS. They plan many school-wide events and promote student participation in school based activities. School uniforms are not required but there are guidelines for appropriate attire while on campus. Athletics SIS is a member of the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference (KAIAC)
which is made up of 14 international and U.S. military base schools. Our school competes in the following sports for both boys and girls: tennis, volleyball, cross-country, basketball, cheerleading, swimming and soccer. SIS also has a very active Middle School athletic program with the teams competing in soccer, swimming, cross-country and basketball. Middle school sports are organized to include all students regardless of ability and the focus is on skill building and friendly competition.
international math competitions.
Co-Curricular Opportunities Students are provided with opportunities which are an extension of the regular classroom curriculum. Model United Nations participate in conferences in Seoul, Beijing and The Hague. They are accompanied by journalism students who report on the deliberations and outcomes of the conferences. The music program at SIS features hundreds of students in Choir, Band and Strings. There are a variety of concerts and solo performances by students at all grade levels. HS drama classes perform regularly. Students participate in Knowledge Master and other academic competitions and each year the results place SIS students near the top in worldwide standings. Forensics (speech and debate) is a KAIAC event and SIS students have consistently distinguished themselves in competitions in Korea and abroad. Additionally, for the past five years, SIS has won the title of Top Math School in Korea and has done extremely well in
Admissions Requirements SIS seeks to enroll students of academic promise and sound character who will be able to contribute their talents and energies to the school community. Potential students are screened for appropriate placement in language arts and mathematics. Admission tests are given in vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, mathematics and oral fluency. Previous school records are required prior to testing. Interviews with both students and parents, previous school results and entrance tests are also used in determining acceptance. A limited number of scholarships are available and are awarded based on a students’ academic record plus demonstrated financial need. A student must be enrolled at SIS for one full school year before being eligible to apply for a scholarship.
ESL in the Mainstream While the majority of the students hold US passports, they are ethnically Koreans. Thus English may not be the first language of some of our students. The school has students who require English Second Language support. This support is provided using a mainstream model. SIS further has an “English Only” policy that requires students to speak English in all instructional settings throughout the day.
Correspondence Regular Mail Address: Songpa P.O. Box 47, Seoul, South Korea 138-600 Courier Mail Address: 388-14 Bokjeong-dong, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 461-200 Telephone: 82-31-750-1200 Fax: 82-31-759-5133 E-mail: roekyung@siskorea.or.kr Website: siskorea.or.kr
Designed by Seungho Yang, Class of 2010