Suzhou Singapore International School

15/03/2018

15/03/2018

Service Opportunities at SSIS
Sep 1 2017
SSIS believes that service is an integral part of every students' education, especially since our aim is to develop the whole child and create responsible future global citizens. Because of this, we take inspiration from the IB CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) Programme and require all students in grades 11 and 12 to engage in service. We also exceed the MYP guidelines and extend the service requirement to grades 9 and 10. This means that, in their final four years at SSIS, all students must be involved in service.

To ensure over 350 students are actively participating in some type of service is a large undertaking. It requires an extensive programme with multiple service opportunities. Here at SSIS, we are proud to provide 16 very different service choices for our senior secondary students. These options fall into one of three categories: Service to People, Service to Animals, and Service to the Environment.

On Friday we held our annual SSIS Service Expo. The Expo allows students to visit each of the service groups and get more information before choosing which group to join for the year. It is primarily aimed at our new grade 9 students since they were not required to engage in the IB CAS Programme in grade 8. The Expo is also beneficial to our Grade 10 and 11 students who may want to join a new group this year.

Last year SSIS was able to award over 340,000 rmb across our selected service organizations. We are eager to hit or exceed this number again this year. Our returning students are already busy planning school supported dress down days, attending community outreach events and preparing for the SSIS charity run. We are looking forward to another successful year of service to our community and environment.

If you would like to know more about any of our chosen organizations or to volunteer alongside our students please contact our CAS coordinator: Noel Southall at [email protected]

The following groups are available this year:

Animals Asia
Bo Ai School
The Giving Tree
Habitat for Humanity
Equal Rights
International Youth Rights
Org4Peace
Paws4Cause
Project Earth: Million Tree Project
Project Earth: Recycling SR
Senior Secondary Student Council
South Africa Vastfontein Project
Student Ambassadors
Suzhou Heritage
Suzhou Orphanage Support Group
Xiyang Hong Retirement Home

15/03/2018

SSIS alumni reunite in Boston
Feb 16 2017
A group of SSIS graduates got together for the second SSIS Boston Reunion, last month.

Alex Wang, Nicole Ling, Hueytyan Chong and Carey Lin were joined by the Secondary Principal, Richard Bruford and former MYP Coordinator, Aubrey Curran at a local restaurant in Cambridge, Boston.

"One of the topics of conversation centered on how beneficial studying in an IB World School was to their university studies," said Mr Bruford. "It was interesting to listen to the various experiences that students felt had prepared them for study beyond SSIS."

Alex Wang (Class of 2014) is currently completing a six-year Pharmacy Doctorate at the University of Massachusetts
Nicole Ling (Class of 2013) is studying a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition at the University of Massachusetts and will graduate this year
Hueytyan Chong (Class of 2010) has graduated with Bachelors in Psychology from University of Nottingham, Malaysia and is currently studying a Maters in Forensics and Counselling at the William James College (Formerly Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology)
Carey Lin (Class of 2016) commenced at Bachelor in Liberal Arts at Boston College in 2016 and plans to focus on Communications.
"It was great to see former students discuss shared and personal memories of their time at SSIS and getting to better understand the positive impact that our school has had on their lives. What is even more amazing is how students remain in contact with one another in a globally connected society and hearing about the various places our growing alumni cross paths with one another."

15/03/2018

SSIS holds first ever alumni reunion
Mar 14 2016
Last month six SSIS alumni gathered in Boston for the first ever SSIS alumni reunion.

The six alumni - Cinthy Chen, Sara Lee, Nicole Ling, Michael Hung, Alex Wang and Judy Chen - were joined by the Secondary Vice-Principal, Richard Bruford, who was in Boston recruiting new teachers for the 2016/17 school year.

"The group were really interested to hear what had changed at SSIS and news of former teachers," said Mr Bruford. "We talked about their time at SSIS and how it had helped prepare them for life at university. They were also keen to share what they have been doing since leaving SSIS."

Cinthy Chen graduated from SSIS in 2013 and is currently studying Advertising at Boston University. Cinthy will be graduating in May this year.
Sara Lee (Class of 2013) left SSIS in Grade 8 and completed her IB Diploma at Annie Wright Schools in Seattle. Sara is also at Boston University studying Hospitality.
Nicole Ling (Class of 2013) left SSIS in Grade 10. She is studying Nutrition at the University of Massachusetts.
Michael Hung (Class of 2012) left SSIS in Grade 9, he is now studying Economics / Finance at Boston University. Michael graduates later this year and will return to Taiwan to complete military service. After this he plans to move to Hong Kong and follow a career in Finance.
Alex Wang graduated from SSIS in 2014 and is currently studying Pharmacy at Northeastern University.
Judy Chen, the most recent graduate of the group, graduated from SSIS last year as a member of the Class of 2015. Judy is in her first year at Tufts University and is still deciding what direction she will take.
"It was a real pleasure to meet up with some of our former students," said Mr Bruford "and to get to know other SSIS alumni. They were a great group and we had a really fun evening."

The next SSIS / SWA reunion will be held in Hong Kong on Saturday, 9 April. For more information contact [email protected] or follow this link to RSVP.

15/03/2018

SSIS alum gather in London
Jan 25 2017
Last weekend six alumni, a former Head of School and the current Head of School met for the first ever London reunion.

The six alumni – Chloe Mei Little, Riccardo Antonello, Luke Ness, Song Jin Lee, Annalisa Bettini, and Celine Goh – were joined by the former Head of School, Anne Fowles (2008-2013) and the current Head of School, Nick Little.

"It was a very pleasant evening with lots of talk of how former classmates and teachers were doing and where they were," said Mr Little. "Brexit was also a hot topic for these students from around the world living in London and hoping to stay there."

Chloe Mei Little (Class of 2015) is currently studying Politics and Philosophy at Sussex University.
Riccardo Antonello (Class of 2010) is studying a Masters in Marketing in London after two years working for Nestle in China.
Luke Ness (Class of 2010) is working for an engineering company in Poole (Dorset) as a Chinese translator.
Song Jin Lee (Class of 2011) is currently working for HSBC in London as an analyst after graduating from Cambridge University last year.
Annalisa Bettini (Class of 2012) is completing her Masters at Imperial College London and starting her PhD at University College London this August.
Celine Goh (Class of 2011) is currently studying Medicine at University College London and will be graduating next July.

15/03/2018

Congratulations to our Class of 2017 who graduated this Thursday, 25 May.