Established in 1989, 'Kaohsiung American School' (高雄美國學校 in traditional Chinese; Gāoxióng Mĕiguó xuéxiào in pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

; abbreviation KAS) is a private

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

, non-profit pre-K through grade 12 college preparatory school, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...

. KAS has a multi-cultural perspective with a safe, caring and supportive environment. The current superintendent is Dr. Thomas Farrell. The school has been accredited to teach the IB Diploma Programme beginning in August 2010.

Elementary Division

The Kaohsiung American School's elementary division, from Pre-K2 (4 years old) to grade six, allows students to receive classes from specialists each week in Art, Music and Physical Education. Students in grades 4-6 also have a weekly class in Information Technology. In addition, students receive Chinese language for 220 minutes a week beginning in grade 1. ELL (English language learning) is provided for students in grades 1-6 who require additional support in English language and is taught by a qualified specialist. Library classes are scheduled either weekly or on a flexible schedule with the Library specialist. The current Elementary principal is Mr. Gerard Dery.

AP (Advanced Placement)

KAS offers five AP courses with other AP courses offered on a bi-yearly basis. These are offered yearly: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics and AP Calculus.

Activities

KAS has twenty "student-created" extra-curricular activities and clubs. There are a wide variety of extra-curricular activities including athletics, music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

, Model United Nations

Model United Nations

Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....

, National Honor Society

National Honor Society

The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...

, Student Council

Student council

Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...

 and other cultural-promoting groups, such as Asian Club.

Community service

"In order to qualify for community service, the student must engage in an activity that further develops his/her moral and ethical character by giving service to others."

Recognizing that school is more than an accumulation of credits and extra-curricular activities, KAS has implemented a Community Services Graduation Requirement. In order to qualify the KAS Community Service Graduation Requirement, student must have a minimum of forty (40) community service hours during their four years at KAS. If a student enrolls during the four years of KAS, the number of service hours is determined by the number of years left for high school graduation.

The mandatory requirements for community service are:

1. Hours must be verified, documented and signed-off by the Secondary Coordinator.

2. At least seventy-five percent of the hours (thirty hours) must be out-campus service.

Extra-Curricular activities

• Student Council
• Model United Nations
• Athletic Council
• Engineering Club
• Cadenza Music Club
• Children's Book Club
• Science Club
• World Games Newspaper Committee
• Global Issues Network
• ACAMIS Sports
• JV and JVB Sports
• Japanese Club
• World Scholars Cup Club
• Baroque Ensemble
• Tae Kwon Do Club
• International Club
• Interact Club
• Invisible Children
• Art Club
• Guitar Club
• National Honor Society
• Table Tennis Club
• Global Issues Network
• Other Extra-Curricular Activities

Reputation

KAS is known as the International School in Koahsiung that offers the best high school curriculum.

See also

• Taipei American School
• National Experimental High School
  National Experimental High School
  National Experimental High School At Science Based Industrial Park , situated near the Hsinchu Science Park, is a public, coeducational school . Founded in August 1983, the school was proposed by the founder of the Science Park Kwoh-Ting Li. NEHS is administered by the Ministry of Education,...
  
  
• Morrison Academy
• American School in Taichung
• Pacific American School

External links

• Kaohsiung American School official website
• KAS on Google Maps