Quick summary of key school information
All the details about this school in their own words
Languages
| Native English and German speaking teachers |
Yes |
| Language support for students not fluent in English and German |
Yes |
| Additional language classes offered by the school |
French |
Classroom
| Does the school employ teaching assistants? |
Yes |
| Is the school ready to use virtual classrooms when needed? (e.g. teaching lessons online if the school is closed, e.g. during COVID-19 closures) |
Yes |
Academics
| External examinations or assessments available |
ISA , Lernlupe |
| Do teachers assign homework to their students? |
Yes |
Admissions
| Brief description of entry evaluation required |
Interview |
| Students can join after academic year begins |
Yes |
School day
| School start time |
Preschool: 8:30
|
| School finish time |
Lessons take place Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Daily from 3. p.m. to 4 p.m. (except Wednesday), we also offer classroom supervision included in the school fees. On Wednesday afternoons, children are supervised free of charge until 4 p.m. |
| Supervised care before/after school |
Before- and after-school care is available to children in kindergarten and primary school. Children can arrive at school from 7:30 a.m. onwards and use the time until school starts at 8:30 a.m. to play with their friends or prepare for the day’s lessons. This service is included in the school fees. Care from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is provided by the bilingual day school FitzGerald, which offers care for younger children during the school day and is located in the same building. This means that children from three months to the end of primary 6 can be cared for and educated at the same time and in the same place. The costs are not included in the school fees and can be found on the price list. |
| School bus service available |
Yes |
| School provided lunches |
Yes |
| Uniform required |
No |
Extracurricular activities
| Extracurricular activities or clubs offered |
Lunch
|
| Sports activities included |
Swimming
|
Facilities
| Facilities at the school |
Library, music/dance room |
| Sports facilities at the school |
Gymnastics room, large playground |
About the school
| Qualities and characteristics best defining the school |
SIS Swiss International School Schönenwerd is a private day school for preschool and primary school children. Designed to fulfil the educational goals of Swiss as well as internationally mobile families, the SIS programme is centred on consistent bilingual classroom instruction and peer experience in German and English, culminating in a diploma with Swiss and international university entrance qualifications. |
| Teaching approach of the school |
Students are immersed in a bilingual environment. All classes receive an equal number of formal German and English lessons. In addition, maths and other subjects are taught in both languages in order to ensure that the children acquire extensive subject-specific vocabulary. Furthermore, starting in grade 3, students learn French as a foreign language. The versatility of the SIS curriculum presents a balanced combination of specific subject study and experimental learning. This makes it possible for children to acquire a range of knowledge and skills from mastery of the lesson material itself, to learning how to study and apply what they learn. SIS follows the guidelines of the Cantonal curriculum, which allows children to transfer from and into the public school system at any time. |