The American International School of Guangzhou (AISG) is an international school in Guangzhou, China. The school is an IB World School which uses an English curriculum and serves the expatriate community in Guangzhou. AISG's current student body consists of approximately 960 students from over 40 countries. Only foreign passport holders (non-Chinese) are able to attend the school.
History
File:Aisg.history.jpgThe first class of students at the American International School of Guangzhou
The school was founded in 1981 to educate the children of the staff of the US Consulate. It was then based in the Dong Fang Hotel. Students of other nationalities were later admitted and the school relocated to the Garden Hotel in 1985. In 1987 the school received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges to teach kindergarten to grade 8. In 1994 AISG moved into a purpose-built school in the Greenery, a housing estate in the Tianhe District. Enrollment was then 102 students from 21 different nationalities. The high school was accredited and added in 1996-97. AISG became an International Baccalaureate World School in 2001.
It moved to its current location in Er Sha Island in 2002. Rapid growth fueled the need to identify a larger site able to accommodate the school’s size over the long term. In 2007 the Middle and High School moved to a more spacious facility in Science Park, north east of the city center. Construction of a new Elementary School and complementary facilities have been planned as a second phase of construction on the Science Park Campus. The 2nd phase is expected to start in February 2011.
Theater (As of March 2010 the completion date of the theater is unknown.)
Double Gymnasium
Playing Field
Dance Studio
Dining areas, cafe and lounges
Science Park Campus is a wireless environment.
Student life
At the Elementary School, there are various activities such as arts, sport, community or academic thread. Some of the after school activities include drama, choir, sudoku and chess. There is also a Service Learning club, and a group of students who come together to produce the Elementary School newspaper.
Middle and High School students are involved in many extracurricular activities, from student government to a strong performing arts program. Student have opportunities to be members in active Music and Drama Clubs as well as in Model United Nations groups. Community service initiatives include Habitat for Humanity, Roots & Shoots, and working with mentally challenged adults in Guangzhou. There are also opportunities to participate in a wide range of both recreational and competitive sports such as Football, Basketball, Badminton, TennisandVolleyball. High School and Middle School students also participate in China Trips where they get to experience China, while having fun too.
Club involvement is considered an integral aspect of the educational experience at the American International School of Guangzhou. As of the 2008-2009 school year, AISG has many clubs to join, with an especially strong focus in community service. Some clubs include:
At the Elementary School, after school sports include volleyball, soccer, floor hockey, taekwondo, table tennis and badminton.
Middle and High School
AISG fields sports a large number of teams at the High School and Middle School level. Some of the sports that many students participate competitively in are volleyball, basketball, soccer, tennis and badminton, in which they play against other International Schools and Chinese Universities in the region. AISG has recently been invited to join APAC, the Asia Pacific Activities Conference. This allows the students to compete against the top International Schools from China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. APAC also includes activities such as Drama, Forensics and Debate, Orchestra and Band. AISG has withdrawn from ACAMIS for the high school teams since it is member of APAC. The middle school has become member of the Southern Delta Region Conference (SDRC), which provides opportunities to play other international schools.
The Boys varsity Volleyball team has been the Division 1 ACAMIS Champions the last 2 years. While the Boys varsity Basketball team has been the Division 1 ACAMIS Champions the last 4 years. AISG left ACAMIS in 2008 for the stronger competition in APAC.
AISG has hosted these APAC events
Basketball tournament - February 2009
Tennis tournament - October 2009
AISG will be hosting these APAC events
Tennis Super Tournament - October 2010
Orchestra - November 2010
AISG hosts most of the SDRC middle school sports tournaments since the other schools in area do not have the facilities needed.
Both campuses are wireless environments and there are computer labs at both campuses for student use. A one-to-one laptop program will begin in grade 5 in the fall of 2010, add 4 through 6 in 2011 and then go school wide the following year. The Middle and High School is scheduled to implement a one-to-one laptop program the following year. At the moment classes may borrow laptop carts or go to the computer labs around the school. Students may also bring their own laptops to school should they choose to do so. In the 2008-2009 school year, the school implemented Moodle, a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Technology is introduced starting from kindergarten.[1] The use of the touch sensitive SmartBoard has been implemented into science classrooms.
