Useful information

Absences – students

Parents need to notify the High School Office if their child is absent or going to be late to school. Contact details can be found at the back of the brochure.

Absences – parents

Parents are required to be resident in Singapore with their child, unless their child is staying in the boarding house. If both parents are travelling outside Singapore for a short period of time, we need to know the name of the child’s guardian in case of an emergency. Please let us know by returning a completed Nomination of a Supervisor during Temporary Parental Absence form, which can be found on the portal, under ‘Forms’.

Arts programme

Over 500 students across the High School are involved in our annual calendar of arts events, which take place across all three terms. These include drama and dance productions, classical music and rock concerts and cultural evenings. Involvement in the Arts programme is a great way for students to experience the Arts. Students need not be taking Theatre, Music or Visual Arts subjects as many productions are run through the Activities programme. There are many ways in which students can become involved in the Arts: backstage management, lighting, sound, set construction, costuming and props as well as performing. All drama, dance and music productions require someone behind the scenes helping to make the production a success, and UWCSEA provides training for these key roles.

Music

Students can participate in the intermediate level choirs and ensembles, including: • The Band (intermediate wind and jazz band) • Singers (non-auditioned choir) • Camerata (intermediate string orchestra) • Guitar Ensemble and various other chamber ensembles • Percussion group The performance standards achieved by the students are a direct result of the College’s extensive Instrumental Teaching Programme (ITP). Individual, pair and group lessons are offered in a comprehensive range of instruments. More information on the ITP is available on the website.

There are numerous concerts on campus each year which families are welcome to attend.

The annual highlight is the OPUS at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Term 2.

United Nations (UN) Night

UN Night is a celebration of the cultural diversity in the College, and this occurs annually. UN Night performances are a colourful smörgåsbord of dance, song and drama from around the world. Items are initiated and produced entirely by High School students.

Being late

The College expects students to be punctual. If a student arrives to school late, they must sign in at the High School Office. Students will be provided with a late slip to be handed to the class teacher. If a child is consistently late then we will contact parents for a meeting. Parents can view their child’s attendance records on the Community Portal.

Boarding community

UWCSEA seeks to provide a ‘home away from home’ for nearly 200 students as part of an international boarding community. Boarding life at UWCSEA is a rich, culturally diverse experience which nurtures self-discipline, selfmanagement and leadership skills and is true to the traditions of the UWC movement.

Boarding students can be invited for a sleepover or a family outing with day student families. This can be arranged by contacting the boarding house.

Security pass and security check

The security guards check all vehicles and pedestrians entering the campus. Parents must have their grey parent lanyard and ID card to show security upon arrival and must wear them at all times whilst on campus. Please organise a security pass to facilitate a speedy arrival to school if you or a helper will be bringing your child to school or collecting them regularly. Families are asked to upload photos for parents, nominated adults and enrolled children directly to the College database for their UWCSEA profile and ID cards. Refer to this Profile photo upload guide. To upload, log in here using your parent login details.

Visitors to Campus

Under the current COVID-19 requirements all visitors to campus must have a valid invitation with a confirmed time and date and must have pre-registered with our visitor booking system – Envoy. The grade secretary or Parents’ Association will share Envoy registration details with you prior to any meeting on campus. Upon arrival on campus visitors must complete all TraceTogether Safe Entry procedures. Parents MUST have their grey parent lanyard and ID card clearly visible at all times whilst on campus. Please note that student pick up and drop off procedures differ and you can view more information about these arrangements in the “Transport” section.

Cars

Students arriving by car should alight at the designated dropoff point. The security guards have been asked to be strict in enforcing this rule. We ask that students being collected by car at the end of the day be collected at 3.30pm, after the buses have left the campus. Traffic congestion during peak arrival and departure times can be significant. Drivers are expected to be patient, polite and comply with traffic laws on approaching and leaving campus. Cars should be registered with the UWCSEA security department and display a UWCSEA decal.

Parking

Parking is limited. If the main car parks are full, parents may use the right hand side of the bus park from 7.40–8.30am. To ensure the safety of students and the quick and efficient loading and departure of the buses, we ask you to drive slowly and only park in allocated lots.

Taxi

Taxis need to come to ‘UWCSEA on Dover Road’—we have two campuses, and they are on opposite sides of the island!

Bicycle

Students are welcome to cycle to school, and there are secure bicycle racks available under cover. Cyclists must wear a safety helmet and obey all road rules.

Public transport

There are a number of public buses that drop off near the entrance to the school driveway. Students in High School are permitted to leave the campus without an accompanying adult and therefore are able to use the extensive public transport system.

Bus

One way to get to and from school is by the school bus, which is provided by Yeap Transport. They go to most places in Singapore. The Transport Office organises the school bus service—contact details are on the back cover of this guide. Parents can book either a one-way or two-way service. Buses arrive in time for the start of school each day, and leave at around 3.10pm. Pick-up and drop-off times are advised when parents book the bus service, which is door-to-door. Students who have an after-school activity that ends at 4.20pm can take the activity bus home which leaves at 4.35pm. Students will have to make their own arrangements to get home if the activity ends after this time.

Drug testing

Any High School student can be selected for random drug testing. When selected, students go to the medical clinic and the hair or urine sample is taken in private.

Laptops

All UWCSEA students in Grades 6–12 must have an up-todate Apple MacBook laptop to support their learning and complete the remote laptop orientation process – Ready Learner One @ UWCSEA – for students and families. Families have two options to source a laptop for school: • use an Apple laptop that you already own • purchase a new Apple laptop Ready Learner One @ UWCSEA is a set of learning engagements and families will be supported remotely to complete both levels: • Level 1: System Setup – This level will help set you up to use the school systems; including wifi, printing and our software distribution system (Filewave) • Level 2: Taking Care – This level will help you consider how you will take care of your laptop and yourself. You will also create a shared family media agreement to help develop a positive environment for use of a laptop at home.

Lockers

Lockers are provided for students to use. Students must keep their locker secure with a lock at all times.

Lost property

Students go to the Reception to ask about lost property, or to hand something in. Found valuables are recorded and kept by the receptionists. Missing items can be reported to the Grade Secretary or Head of Grade.

Lunch and snacks

There are multiple food outlets offering a wide variety of food, with influences from all over the world. A bought lunch costs between $5 and $10 per day. Fresh whole fruit is available in these outlets. There are also options for breakfast and after-school snacks. Students can purchase snacks and lunch using the (cashless) campus card system, which can be monitored and topped up online by parents. Students are able to utilise the campus card system once they receive their student ID card in the first few weeks of school. Further information on the campus card system is available on the portal on the College website. They can also utilise other forms of cashless payments such as debit cards to purchase food on campus. For more information, visit the Food Services page on the portal. The Verandah has several counters and many options, ranging from healthy snacks like sushi, fruit salad and freshly squeezed juices to more substantial offerings like pasta, pizza, a salad bar and a sandwich bar where you can choose the fillings. Rolls, sandwiches, fruit smoothies and other drinks are also available.

At The Pavilion, there is an Indian stall where fresh naan is cooked daily and served with a variety of Indian curries. There is also a large counter with a wide selection of hot Western, Asian or Halal dishes and sandwiches, wraps, sushi, fruit and yoghurt. Chilled, filtered water is available in water fountains, not bottles— bring a water bottle from home to refill during the day.

Plagiarism and collusion

Plagiarism is the practice of presenting the ideas or work of others as one’s own. Collusion is copying from a friend or allowing a friend to copy one’s own work. The College views such academic dishonesty very seriously and has a policy of suspension for those who plagiarise. The full policy is available on the portal for both students and parents, and students are taken through information on academic honesty as part of the Personal and Social Education (PSE) programme.

Round Square

Founded by Kurt Hahn, who also founded the UWC movement, Round Square is a worldwide association of schools on five continents sharing unique and ambitious goals. Member schools share a similar educational philosophy to UWCSEA. UWCSEA belongs to the Australia and East Asia Region, which offers opportunities for collaboration with other member schools at many different levels, and in many different ways. These include: • regional and international conferences • student exchange programme • international service projects • Gap Year programme • Round Square committee membership (by school section) Please visit the dedicated Round Square microsite for more details: www.uwcsea.edu.sg/roundsquare.

Student leadership

Many opportunities, both formal and informal, for student action and leadership are provided at UWCSEA. For example, students can be involved in Student Council, Sports Council, Global Concern Executive, Student Forums, PRISM, UWC Taskforce, Initiative for Peace and more.

Sport

Dover Campus has many sports teams across a multitude of representative sports, and also provides access to a number of other recreational sports. UWCSEA is linked with two sporting conferences, SEASAC (across Asia) and ACSIS (within Singapore), and our representative teams have been very successful in both these competitions. The sports microsite lists all the representative sports seasons as well as details on tryouts and training commitments. These are also published in eBrief at the start of the year. Once selected, students’ participation is registered in the activities programme database. Recreational sports are part of the Activities programme, and students sign up for each of the four seasons through the online sign-up system. Parents are encouraged to support the Dover Phoenix teams and come and watch the matches. We have covered seating at both the pool and the main Ayer Rajah field to make watching sport a more comfortable experience—though it is advisable to bring a cushion!