Community Impact Statement

Singapore American School, located in the northern Woodlands section of Singapore, is committed to providing each student with an exemplary American educational experience with an international perspective. Founded in 1956 as one of Singapore’s first foreign-system schools, what started with a hundred students in a colonial house has developed into a school of over 3,900 students on a 36-acre campus, the largest single-campus international school in the world. An independent, non-profit, co-educational day school, SAS offers an American-based curriculum for preschool through grade 12. The students come from fifty nations, and sixty-five percent hold US passports.

At SAS, traditional academic subjects are complemented by robust offerings of foreign languages, art, music, dance, physical education, sports, technology, and community service. Teachers integrate their host country into their lessons with frSingapore-based social studies and history units. Air-conditioned classrooms, gyms, libraries, and theaters are balanced by many open-air spaces including courtyards, fountains, a rainforest, an eco-garden, and extensive playing fields.

 

History and Current Location

 

 

Singapore American School opened in January of 1956 in a Rochalie Drive colonial house that could accommodate around one hundred students. Originally intended as a school for the children of American businessmen, diplomats, and missionaries, it swiftly grew to include students from a much wider variety of backgrounds.

The increasing size and instructional requirements of the school necessitated several moves over the next fifty years:

• In 1962 the school moved to a purpose-built K-12 facility on King’s Road.
• By 1971, partly as a result of the oil exploration boom, the school’s population had again outgrown the campus. SAS’s younger students were moved to two temporary sites.
• In 1973 a new K-8 campus opened at Ulu Pandan; the school was now split, with the High School still located at King’s Road.
• To accommodate 125 waitlisted children, a satellite elementary campus was established in the Clementi area in 1990-91.
• Increased enrollment, the approaching 2003 expiration of the Ulu Pandan lease, and government pressure to expand resulted in the decision to build a brand new school in Woodlands.
• In 1996 the Woodlands campus was opened. For the first time in over 20 years, all SAS students were once again together on one campus.

 

Woodlands Campus History

 

 

The Singapore government offered SAS the choice of three sites for a new campus, and the school chose a 15-hectare (36-acre) plot in the developing Woodlands area. The school was given a 90-year lease, and the agreement stipulated that the new campus accommodate up to 3,700 students, a limit many Americans felt was unlikely to be met. A new campus costing $150 million was constructed. Within six years, rising enrollment necessitated the redevelopment of part of the campus into a new high school and an Early Childhood Center, which opened in 2004.

Now in its nineteenth year of operation, the Woodlands SAS campus has proven an economic, social, and cultural asset to the Woodlands community. With nearly 4,000 students, the school is a major employer, hiring professional and administrative staff, as well as housekeepers, guards, groundskeepers, and food service workers. Around 14 percent of SAS families live near the school, evenue to the district through rentals, purchases, and employment of service providers. With the Woodlands Regional Centre being one of the areas slated for development in the government’s latest Land Use Plan, we anticipate that SAS will continue to be one of the prominent anchor institutions in the area.

 

At Singapore American School, employees from many different places work side by side. The percentages of Singaporeans, Americans, and other nationalities on the staff vary from year to year, but the professionalism, cooperation, and respect shown to each other and to students remain constant.

Singaporean Staff

From the school’s beginnings, Singaporeans have made up a large, stable, and valued portion of the school’s professional and support stafed by SAS were Singaporeans, and over the years, many of the longest-serving teachers, instructional assistants, and support staff have been locals. These individuals provide continuity and institutional memory even as foreign students and staff come and go. Their contributions to the school are deeply appreciated.

Singaporeans Currently Employed Directly by SAS

Total Singaporean staff directly employed by SAS: 196

Singaporeans* Currently Employed Indirectly by SAS

Total workers currently employed by local companies contracted by SAS: 799+

*While most of these indirect employees are Singaporeans, some may be PRs or foreign workers. Our records do not specify all nationalities.

Foreign Staff

The many foreigners employed by SAS also contribute significantly to the local and and national community. Whether they stay a few years of a few decades, the unique opportunities they find in Singapore make their SAS sojourn a memorable one. Births, marriages, friendships, and unique experiences make many foreign employees of SAS feel that Singapore is truly a second home for them.

Foreign Staff Contributions to Singapore

Number of foreign teachers, administrators, and other staff: 438, from 22 different countries:

2014 Financial Contributions to Singapore by SAS and Its Staff

Taxes, Costs, and Levies Paid:

Economic Effects of SAS on the Woodlands

339 SAS families live in the Woodlands and Sembawang arevenue through their needs and activities. Spending in the neighborhood includes rental payments, food shopping, payments to service providers, and dining, leisure, and recreation costs. We estimate that each family spends between $72,000 and and $264,000 each year on these items, giving us a total of between $24.4 million and $89.5 million spent in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Partnering with the People’s Association

During 2014, SAS and the Woodlands People’s Association supported each other in a number of ways:

• Chinese New Year celebrations - SAS administrators and staff sponsored and attended this event• Fundraiser Dinner for Welfare Development Fund - SAS bought a VIP table and SAS administrators and staff attended
• National Day Dinner - SAS administrators and staff sponsored and attended this event
• House-painting - several times each year, SAS students spend the day painting PA-identified Woodlands residents' flats
• “Christmas Wish Come True” - SAS provided the venue for this Woodgrove HDB neighborhood association event, and the SAS High School Service Council offered children’s activities, gifts, food, entertainment, and a photo booth; over 100 Woodgrove residents were granted one of their wishes. SAS was pleased to host Mr. Ong Teng Koon, MP for Sembawang GRC (Woodgrove), Woodgrove Citizens’ Consultative Committee Members Mr. Lim, Mr. Heng, Mr. Ng, and Madam Lee, and Woodgrove Community Centre Youth Member Mr. Teh.

Annual Highlights of SAS’s Community Role

• County Fair, February: The community is invited onto campus for an old-fashioned American county fair, including kids’ games, music, and food. A vendor sale, silent auction, and large used-book sale also take place.
• White Elephant Sale, May: The SAS PTA and neighborhood families coordinate to sell quality used items; SAS provides space for sale tables, parking, and publicity.
• Independence Day celebrations, July: SAS invites reworks. Over 500 tickets are distributed to our neighbors, along with food and drink vouchers. The American Club also offers game coupons.
• Halloween celebration, October: an estimated 5,000 people come from across Singapore to celebrate in the neighborhood, with families handing out candy to costumed kids. SAS provides parking and security guards to facilitate the celebration.
• Food Fest, November: the community is invited onto campus to enjoy the tastes of our diverse community. Gift baskets are raffled, and a vendor fair allows small-scale artisans to sell their wares.

SAS as a Community Resource

• The Singapore American Community Action Council (SACAC), now called SAS Community Sports and Activities, established in 1973, welcomes all families to join its SAS-based sporting activities for youth and adults.
• SACAC also provides extensive counseling services, including workshops and private therapy, to any family, couple, or individual in need.
• Other organizations open to the public, such the Boy and Girl Scouts, are sponsored by SAS staff and use campus facilities.
• Community members are welcome to attend SAS concerts, plays, and sporting events.

Ongoing Good-Neighbor Initiatives

• SACAC seeks to make its sports programs available to all by offering a number of $1,000 scholarships, waiving the membership fee for active military families, and assisting local community children who wish to join its sports programs.
• Volunteer SAS parent crossing guards on school mornings ensure pedestrian safety on Woodgrove Avenue, with SAS-provided training and safety equipment.
• SAS guards direct trafoodlands Street 41 during morning drop-off; a guard is stationed near the Woodgrove Avenue pedestrian entrance during drop-off and pick-up times, SAS periodically reminds parents to park in nearby HDB carparks and to be considerate when driving in the neighborhood, and encourages students to ride school buses and public transportation to minimize traffic.
• The SAS facilities team hands out goody-bags and gifts to our neighbors in thanks for their patience with school-related inconveniences.

Beyond the Woodlands neighborhood and area, SAS supports the general Singapore economy and government through its payments to direct and indirect employees, payments of taxes and levies, pure. SAS also helps to attract international companies and expatriate employees to Singapore.

Financial Impact of SAS on Singapore, 2014

Sporting Events’ Financial Impact

Since the early 1960s, SAS has been hosting international sporting tournaments. During 2014, five different international tournaments took place at SAS, bringing over 800 visitors to Singapore for two- to four- day stays. The financial impact of these visitors included hotel bookings, transportation costs, meals, entertainment, and souvenirs. Besides the 840 official participants, some athletes' family members also come to Singapore to support the team.

Financial Impact of International Educators’ Trips

SAS welcomes many teams from non-Singaporean international schools who want to consult with and learn from us. We estimate that each year we host around twenty overseas trips for educators. With an average of four participants per trip, and an average stay of three nights, this means that SAS is one reason for 240 days of international educators’ visits to the country.

Student Field Trips’ Financial Impact

SAS supports many local attractions, institutions, and performances through its student excursions. Field trips requiring tickets purchases in 2014 included:

SAS students also made excursions to sites that do not require tickets. Students, teachers, and chaperones purchased souvenirs, bought meals, made donations, and embraced sites’ missions. Most excursions included around 350 children and adults. Destinations included:

• Chinatown
• Little India
• Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve
• Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
• Dairy Farm Nature Park• Macritchie Reservoir
• Chinese Heritage Centre
• Various places of worship
• Marsiling Wet Market
• Kranji War Memorial
• Woodlands Waterfront Park
• Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farm
• National Museum of Singapore
• Alexandra Retail Centre
• Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES)

SAS is a Major Factor in Expatriate Families Choosing Singapore

As an established and highly regarded international school, SAS draws families to Singapore. Parents considering a move to the region work with their companies’ HR departments and network with others in similar circumstances for school recommendation; both American and other families find SAS attractive due to its strong academic program, extensive extracurriculars, excellent facilities, and professional, caring faculty and staff. Around half of our nearly 4,000 students are sponsored by the companies that relocated their parents overseas.

Companies that sponsored SAS students during 2014 include:

• Procter & Gamble• ExxonMobil• Chevron
• IBM
• Caterpillar Asia
• GlobalFoundries
• Micron
• United Technologies
• Cisco
• Johnson & Johnson
• FMC Technologies
• Hewlett Packard
• Amgen
• Schlumber Oilfield (S) Pte Ltd
• McDermott International
• Citibank
• Cameron (Singapore) Pte Ltd
• Amgen
• Aon-Hewitt
• GM

SAS Families’ Financial Impact on Singapore

When asked, many SAS families point to SAS as a significant factor in their choice of Singapore as a temporary residence. We are proud to know that we indirectly contribute to the economic well-being of the country in this way. Our 2,521 separate SAS families rent or buy property, acquire vehicles, pay for food and other necessities, hire service providers, and spend on dining, leisure, and recreation activities. We estimate that each family spends between $6,000 and $22,000 each month on these items, giving us a monthly estimate of between $15 million and $55 million spent in Singapore by SAS families.

Singapore American School extends its influence in many positive ways outside its gates, Since 1960s, when SAS students began volunteering in St. Andrews Hospital for Children, service learning has become an essential element in our students’ development as caring world citizens. Students serve in many ways, whether through being “buddies” with local schoolchildren, going on grade-level service trips, or joining a service club after school.

SAS Elementary School Students Support Local and Southeast Asian Charities

• Kindergarten: Students visit and befriend stroke victims at Adventist Rehab Center. Students complete the “Go for Gold” project to provide books for students in Cambodia.
• Grade 1: Students develop “buddies” at Seng Kang Primary School through festivals and games.
• Grade 2: Students feed 315 individuals each month through Food from the Heart, donate toys for FFH children, and complete a walkathon to raise money for FFH families. Students send art supplies to students in Cambodia.
• Grade 3: Students mentor Innova Primary School students in reading through the “kidsREAD” literacy program, and visit the SILRA Home for ex-leprosy victims to interact with the residents. Students complete Heifer International’s “Read to Feed” challenge to help poor families help themselves in developing countries.
• Grade 4: Students mentor Innova School grade 2 students in reading and develop “Endangered Environments” class service projects. Students participate in a swimathon to raise money for the Adventist Rehabilitation Centre, Singapore; The Sumatran Orangutan Society, Indonesia; and The Society for Each Other, Nepal.
• Grade 5: Students work on arts and crafts with the elderly and indigent at the Christalite Methodist Home.• 50 students travel to Telunas to teach English and math to Riau Islands students.

SAS Middle School Students Pursue Group and Individual Service Projects

• Grade 6: Students support fresh-water conservation and the fight against water-borne diseases through independent projects, fund-raising, and trips to Cambodia and Bali.
• Students fight the poverty cycle by supporting Tabitha, Wish for Kids, Kiva, and Milaap on sustainability, self-help, education, and microjects.
• Grade 8: Students complete individual service projects ranging from playing music for the destitute to digging wells and building homes in poor communities.

SAS High School Students Participate in Over 50 Clubs and Organizations Dedicated to Helping Poor, Disadvantaged, Ill, or Disabled Children and Adults in Singapore, Asia, and Beyond

Singapore-Based

• Beyond Social Services works with underprivileged children, on SAS campus.
• Community Chest tutors children at Marsiling Primary School Care Corner and works with elderly at AWWA Nursing Home.
• Migrant Workers Outreach Program teaches migrant workers skills such as computer use, English, and photography.
• BEAT brings musical performances to the Leprosy Home, Metta Home, Red Cross Home, and other care institutions.
• Crescendo performs and teaches musical skills to children at the Autism Association and patients at St. Andrew’s Community Hospital.
• Crystal Music provides music and companionship to Christalite Methodist Home residents.
• Dream Makers with Make-A-Wish Foundation, sponsors the wishes of terminally-ill children.
• Happy Hats raises awareness of childhood cancer and puts smiles on kids’ faces, one hat at a time.
• Leprosy Home interacts with and bring meals to SILRA residents.
• Metta Home interacts and socializes with Metta Home’s disabled and ill residents.
• Pathway, with Bizlink, trains, promotes self-help, and cultivates interests in the disabled to prepare them for employment.
• Raising Awareness for Wildlife Reserves volunteers at and support successful wildlife reserves within and outside Singapore, and raises awareness of those that mistreat their animals.
• Ronald McDonald House provides birthday parties for and aids pediatric ward patients.
• SACAC Bowling interacts with cognitively disabled peers from local schools through bowling at the American Club.
• Special Olympics teaches swimming in a safe environment to intellectually disabled youth.
• Special Soccer interacts with disabled peers and helps them grow as soccer players.
• Sports for Change supports local Singaporeans through sports-related fundraisers and interacts with local shelter inhabitants at Good Shepherd Home.
• Steps 4 Success teaches English and life skills to local students at non-government-aided schools.
• Visionary Club works with students at the Singapore Lighthouse School, organizes outings for visually disabled children, and fundraises for surgeries and learning aids; also works with visually disabled adults to create arts and crafts for sale.
• Food from the Heart redistributes leftover and surplus food items to disadvantaged individuals and families in Singapore, and ensures their basic living standards are met.
• Youth Community Outreach helps impoverished, handicapped, and orphaned youth in Singapore and Henan, China.

Asia and Beyond

• Aiding China aids communities and students through fundraising and an annual service trip to China.
• Caring for Cambodia aids children and adults through fundraisers, supplies drives, pen-pal letters, and service trips.
• Indonesia Club breaks the poverty cycle through teaching technology skills and promoting access to technology.
• Gawad Kalinga (Philippines) alleviates poverty by fundraising to provide land, homes, and food for the poor.
• Wish for Kids teaches students and does community service projects in Cebu, Philippines.
• AGAPP (Philippines) promotes early childhood education through classroom and library construction, teacher training, and providing textbooks and teaching materials.
• Stairway (Philippines) helps abandoned and abused street children with food, shelter, education, attention, and counseling through fundraising and an annual interim trip.
• Habitat for Humanity (projects mainly in Indonesia) brings people together to build homes and eradicate housing poverty.
• Project India provides education for youth in India.
• Doorstep School supports education for India’s urban poor.
• ACT works with New Creations School, South India, to help two students per year to attend college.
• G.A.F.O. works with Papua New Guinea Highlands High School to become self-sustaining
• Outreach Vietnam provides resources for impoverished children.
• READ Bhutan empowers rural communities in India, Nepal, and Bhutan through education, development, and enterprise.
• Hope and Homes (Romania) helps orphans and abandoned children in Romania’s institutions and orphanages.
• Shining Hope for Communities (Kenya) fights gender inequality and extreme poverty by linking tuition-free schools for girls to integrated social services.• Grassroot Soccer stops the spread of HIV by using soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize communities.
• Village H.O.P.E., with Mercy Relief, provides disaster relief and sustainable development for the distressed, disadvantaged, and destitute in Asia.
• Freedom Foundation prevents abuse of women and girls and promotes education in Southeast Asia.
• Project Nirmala provides access to sanitary products so poor women in India can participate fully in social and economic opportunities in their communities.
• Literacy for Life participates in Room to Read’s “Students Helping Students” literacy and girls’ education program.
• Global Issues Network empowers young people to collaborate locally, regionally, and globally to create sustainable solutions for global issues.
• Just a Drop provides access to clean, drinkable water, and promotes water conservation efforts.• Kiva encourages entrepreneurialism in poverty-stricken areas through microjects.
• Medical Explorers brings medical assistance to those in need and raises medical awareness in communities.
• Peace Initiative raises awareness of human rights abuses and empowers youth to take action.
• Red Cross SAS Youth Chapter offers CPR courses, hosts blood drives, and coordinates humanitarian efforts with other Red Cross youth chapters and the international organization.
• For Kids: Growing a Greener Future, with The Nature Conservancy, raises awareness for environmental protection and contributes to tree-planting drives.
• S.A.V.E., with Roots and Shoots Singapore, promotes environmental awareness and animal rights through recycling, sensory trails, the International Coastal Cleanup, and ecological education.
• SPAR raises awareness about cruelty to animals, and raises funds for animal shelters.
• World Wildlife Foundation provides a voice for wildlife and promotes ecological and conservation awareness.

SAS High School Week-Long Interim Trips Allow Students to Engage More Deeply with Service Learning in:

• Singapore
• Bhutan
• Cambodia
• China
• Fiji
• India
• Laos
• Philippines
• South Africa
• Thailand
• Vietnam

SAS Faculty, Staff, and Parents Dedicate Many Hours to Local and Regional Charities

Some of the organizations most supported by SAS’s adult community include:

• Caring for Cambodia
• Elevita Artisans
• Free Schools India
• Gawad Kalinga, Philippines
• Gramshree of India
• Side By Side Organic Farm, Bali
• Tabitha Foundation
• XS of Indonesia (the school also buys their recycled-trash computer and iPad cases for hundreds of school computers)

The SAS Community is Quick to Help in Times of Trouble

Recent relief efforts include:

• Japanese tsunami, 2011: $125,300
• Typhoon Haiyan, 2013: $85,810

Teachers everywhere love to learn from each other. We at SAS feel extremely fortunate to be part of Singapore’s vibrant and innovative education scene. Through informal exchanges, hosting opportunities, networking opportunities, and professional conferences, SAS seeks to contribute to and learn from this exciting community. Our graduates also contribute to higher education in Singapore, and those with National Service responsibilities fulfill them.

SAS Contributes to the Professional Development of Teachers in Singapore

• SAS hosted the EdTechTeam Singapore Summit featuring Google Apps for Education, which drew over 325 participants from Singapore international schools, Ministry of Education (MOE) schools, and other schools in the region.
• SAS hosted visits by MOE teachers and administrators taking advantage of their Teacher Growth Model professional development opportunities.
• SAS teachers presented sessions for students at the Republic Polytechnic Problem-Based Learning Institute.
• SAS participated in teacher exchanges with Republic Polytechnic.
• SAS administrators made presentations and conducted outreach visits to other Singapore school administrators and MOE groups; presentation topics in 2014 included Children At Promise, Standards-Based Assessment, and PLCs.
• SAS encouraged its teachers and staff to present to and participate in professional conferences in Singapore and the region.
• A team of support services teachers visited the Pathway School to learn more about delivering services to children on the autism spectrum.

SAS Promotes Sporting Opportunities for International School Students

SAS was a founding member of the ACSIS League, which now provides inter-school sporting opportunities for students in over 25 international schools in Singapore and Johor, Malaysia. This league helps make Singapore an attractive location for expatriate families with school-age children.

• The SAS Director of Athletics, Activities, and Clubs was the driving force behind the development of the Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS) League
• ACSIS has grown from an informal set of sports, exchanges between five large international schools into an efficient, 3 season sporting conference open to a wide variety of large, medium, and small schools.
• SAS provided financial structure for ACSIS until it became an independent society.
• SAS continues to be one of the main organizers for ACSIS sports leagues, serving as convener for between six and eight of if its 14 sports each year.
• SAS hosts the second highest number of ACSIS games each year, providing sporting venues for thousands of student athletes across Singapore.

SAS Students Organize GIN Conferences that Promote Collaboration Between SAS Students and Students in Other Singapore Schools

SAS has developed a strong commitment to the Global Issues Network, which encourages young people to “think globally, act locally” and use their energy and creativity to solve pressing global problems. In 2014, the SAS GIN Club:

• Hosted the ImaGINe Symposium 2014, which allowed 75 students from SAS and other Singapore schools to share their work, knowledge, and ideas about important global problems
• With UWC, ISS, and TTS, began planning with second GIN Symposium, which will take place in March 2015

SAS Partners with Institutes of Higher Learning

The SAS Summer Semester program offers challenging opportunities to SAS and non-SAS high school students through partnerships with:

• Stanford University Pre-Collegiate Studies
• Columbia Business School
• DigiPen Institute of Technology

SAS Graduates Enter Singaporean Universities or Other Higher Education Institutions

While most SAS graduates go on to higher education institutions in the US and other countries, and some remain in Singapore and enter local institutions each year. At present, SAS graduates attend:

• Culinary Institute of America
• Curtin Singapore
• Lasalle College of the Arts
• Management Development Institute of Singapore
• Nanyang Technological University
• National University of Singapore
• Singapore Institute of Management
• Singapore Management University
• Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
• Yale-NUS College

SAS Graduates Fulfill Their National Service Requirement

Each year, Singaporean SAS graduates fulfill their NS responsibility. Our records indicate the following numbers of current National Servicemen, with year of entry in parentheses:

• 13 (2012)
• 21 (2013)
• 18 (2014)

Total at present: 52

In keeping with two of our core values which are responsibility and respect, SAS puts environmental stewardship at the heart of its efforts to be a good community member. Students and staff at all levels are encouraged to get involved in making the school environmentally responsible, and lessons learned in various classes and activities foster respect for our environment. Each of the following initiatives not only makes an environmental difference in itself, but also is used as a living laboratory for students to learn about sustainable living.

Award-Winning 3,356, 1mw Solar Panel Array

• SAS earned the 2013 Solar Pioneer Award, given by the government to solar energy trailblazers.
• SAS hosts one of the largest solar installations in Singapore, covering 1/3 of the school’s available roof space.
• SAS solar panels will reduce our carbon footprint by at least 10 percent per year.
• A monitoring system for weather, pollution, and other variables is planned.

Building Efficiency

• SAS achieved Green Mark Gold certification in 2012 due to efforts to use energy efficiently and avoid waste.
• Upgrades to our central air-conditioning system, chillers, and building automation system, intensive cleaning for pipes and ducts, efficient fluorescent lighting, and low-flow water have all improved our building efficiency.
• Renovation of the intermediate/middle school cafeteria transformed it from an indoor, air-conditioned space to an open air space cooled by a giant fan.
• Trees and “green walls” across the SAS campus help to shade and cool areas, take in some of the carbon dioxide we produce, and release oxygen.

Eco-Wiz Food Digester

• The digester reduces our reliance on incineration and landfills to dispose SAS food waste.
• No solid waste is produced, the system filters and treats the results to produce sewer-ready wastewater.
• Secondary ecological benefits include avoiding fuel use and pollution related to waste transportation.

Emphasis on Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

• Seventh grade students spearheaded a 2014 campaign to reduce paper towel use by more than 50 percent from the old rate of 8.85 million towels per year.
• Students and staff are encouraged to bring refillable bottles to school; water fountains have been refitted to provide for easy re no longer sold in school cafeterias.
• Recycling efforts have expanded: more bins are available, and student clubs facilitate recycling of paper, bottles, and cans.
• Efforts to reduce paper use at school have resulted in a move to paperless communication in many areas.
• Paper bought by SAS is certified as coming from sustainable sources by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and produced in conformity to the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems.

Student and Class Environmental Projects

• An eco-garden was planted in the high school; its biodiversity was improved last year by new soil and plants, and students next hope to construct a plant nursery to cultivate threatened native species.
• SAS is one of the only international schools with a mature rainforest on its campus. Students plan to improve its biodiversity by replanting native seedlings there and in other sites in Singapore, and by creating a butterfly garden.
• For more than two decades, SAS students have continually participated in the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore.
• The SAVE club designed, constructed, and managed the nature sensory trail for the blind on Pulau Ubin.
• SAS hosted the ImaGINe Symposium 2014. This provided an opportunity for 75 students from SAS and other Singapore schools to share their work, knowledge, and ideas about pressing global issues.

Partnerships with Singaporean Ecological Organizations

SAS values the 2014 learning experiences made possible for students and staff by the following:

• Singapore Botanic Gardens
• Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve
• Chek Jawa Wetlands
• MacRitchie Reservoir
• Bollywood Veggies
• Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farm

Through its student trips, exchanges, and outreach efforts, SAS presents a positive image of Singapore to the rest of the world. Students, teachers, and parents appreciate the exciting, friendly, safe, and efficient, and they communicate their affection for Singapore in all sorts of ways. Through them, the wider world learns more about a small but impressive country that all can respect and learn from.

Home Countries

Our students come from around 50 countries, and communicate with relatives and friends back home about their experiences in Singapore.

International School Trips

During 2014, our students and teachers travelled to the following countries on school trips focused on sports, music, dance, drama, science, clubs, community service, and professional development. Formal and informal information exchanges presented Singapore in a positive light.

The Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS)

The Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS) links SAS, and Singapore, to five sister schools in the region with similar histories and philosophies. During sports and cultural exchanges, thousands of families in the region learn from participants about their host countries.

• Singapore American School, Singapore
• Taipei American School, Taiwan
• International School of Bangkok, Thailand
• International School of Manila, Philippines
• International School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Jakarta Intercultural School, Indonesia

Alumni Office

The SAS Alumni Office works to keep alumni in touch with the events and developments at the school and with Singapore. Each year some alumni return to the school for visits, or get together with other SAS friends at events overseas. In 2014, alumni events included:

• Singapore alumni reunion, May, 132 participants
• At least five alumni gatherings in the United States and other countries
• At least 123 alumni and their families visited the campus. For some, who had attended SAS at one of the earlier campus sites, this was their first visit to the Woodlands campus, and they were taken on a campus tour by alumni office staff.

SAS Students and Families Return to Singapore for Work and Travel

We hear from many SAS alumni who actively seek to include Singapore in their further life experiences. Some move back to Singapore permanently, while others look for work that will bring them here or propose assignments to their current companies. We have four staff members who are SAS alumni, and 33 students whose parents attended SAS.