American School of Barcelona
Encyclopedia
The American School of Barcelona was the first and largest trilingual school in Barcelona
, Spain
.
It was established in 1962 by Dr. Josep Maria Poal, an eminent physician
and co-founder of the North American Institute in 1951. Ever since it has been a non-profit organization owned and run by a parent's association which elects a Board of Governors. The school was established to provide an American education to students from the local and international communities of Barcelona. The American School of Barcelona is authorized by the Spanish Ministry of Education and accredited by Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges. The school provides a basic American instructional program. The nature of the school permits its students to follow the US curriculum from preschool to twelfth grade while at the same time enables them to become integrated in the culture and language of the host country.
The school boasts an average of 20 students per class, making individualized attention one of the primary objectives of the Education offered by the School.
program (which also granted the US Diploma to students) or the US Diploma one. Starting the 07/08 academic year, ASB will start to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB Diploma). As of 2007 it is one of the few that offers this diploma in Barcelona and the only one that does so in English. The language of instruction is English, except the Spanish and Catalan requirements. Staff specialties range from Counseling to Learning Disabilities and the school offers many special programs and extracurricular activities: dance, drama, PE, newspaper, student council, community service, soccer, and basketball. Furthermore, it offers the following examinations: AP
, ITBS, PSAT, SAT
, TOEFL
, MEAP
, and Selectividad
.
, Spanish
, and Catalan
. The winners of the contest get the chance to show off their work and receive a book including all winning pieces.
) and to The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN).
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
It was established in 1962 by Dr. Josep Maria Poal, an eminent physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and co-founder of the North American Institute in 1951. Ever since it has been a non-profit organization owned and run by a parent's association which elects a Board of Governors. The school was established to provide an American education to students from the local and international communities of Barcelona. The American School of Barcelona is authorized by the Spanish Ministry of Education and accredited by Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges. The school provides a basic American instructional program. The nature of the school permits its students to follow the US curriculum from preschool to twelfth grade while at the same time enables them to become integrated in the culture and language of the host country.
Faculty
The school's experienced faculty is predominantly North American, with degrees from North American universities and certification in their respective areas. Fifteen percent are recruited hires who usually remain from two to four years.The school boasts an average of 20 students per class, making individualized attention one of the primary objectives of the Education offered by the School.
Program
The school curriculum is US based. In upper level classes, and until this year, the school offered two curricular options: the Spanish national convalidation SelectividadSelectividad
Selectividad is the popular name given to the Spanish University Access Tests , a non-compulsory exam taken by students after secondary school, necessary to go into University...
program (which also granted the US Diploma to students) or the US Diploma one. Starting the 07/08 academic year, ASB will start to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB Diploma). As of 2007 it is one of the few that offers this diploma in Barcelona and the only one that does so in English. The language of instruction is English, except the Spanish and Catalan requirements. Staff specialties range from Counseling to Learning Disabilities and the school offers many special programs and extracurricular activities: dance, drama, PE, newspaper, student council, community service, soccer, and basketball. Furthermore, it offers the following examinations: AP
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
, ITBS, PSAT, SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, TOEFL
TOEFL
The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL , evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting....
, MEAP
Michigan Educational Assessment Program
The Michigan Educational Assessment Program, commonly known as MEAP, is a standardized test. The test is taken by all public school students in the U.S. state of Michigan from elementary school to middle/junior high school...
, and Selectividad
Selectividad
Selectividad is the popular name given to the Spanish University Access Tests , a non-compulsory exam taken by students after secondary school, necessary to go into University...
.
Sant Jordi
Every year, and coinciding with the international Book Day, April 23rd, ASB organizes a writing contest for grades 4th and above. The categories are always Prose and Poetry, and students are allowed (and encouraged) to write in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
. The winners of the contest get the chance to show off their work and receive a book including all winning pieces.
Halloween
Following the American tradition, the school organizes a Halloween parade the Friday of or before October 31st, where students get to dress up and compete for the best costume prizes. For the smaller grades, Halloween Day is an event in itself, as students get to have fun with their classmates and activities organized by the PTA. In these grades students tend to dress up individually. As students reach the secondary school, activities are progressively cornered to the last hour of class, which is when the parades take place.Winter Concert
Previously known as Christmas Concert, it is the chance Elementary and Middle Students get to show their friends and family the songs they've prepared in their music classes throughout the first trimester.MUN (Model United Nations) Conferences
MUN has a great tradition at American School of Barcelona. Currently organized by Mr. Joe Maas, the school sends delegations to the Iberian Model United Nations (IMUNImun
Imun is a small dacitic and rhyolitic cone in the south of Lake Toba. Due to its closeness with the much larger caldera of the Lake Toba, there is not much of information about this small volcano....
) and to The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN).