Frankfurt International School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Frankfurt International School (also known as FIS) is a private school in Oberursel, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Academics 2.1 IBDP 3 Athletics 4 Construction 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Overview

Founded in 1961, it is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. It is considered one of the most prestigious such schools in Europe and has been accredited as one of the best IB schools in the world. The headmaster of the school is Mark Ulfers. The student government (student council) is currently under major changes, trying to get students to be more involved with student matters inside the school. The school's main curriculum is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, which allows many of its 1,724 students to go on to study at some of the most prestigious universities in the world, including Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Oxford, Cambridge and Rice. It was the first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme school in Germany and the seventh worldwide.

On The 22nd of May 2006 the new Strategic Plan was approved, with a brand new mission for the school, which is stated as follows: Our mission is to be the leading culturally diverse and family-oriented international school with English as the principal language of instruction.We inspire young individuals to develop their intellect, creativity and character to grow into adaptable, socially responsible global citizens by ensuring a dynamic, 21st-century, inquiry-driven education of the highest standard. [1]

The school consists of three devisions. It teaches courses from pre-primary up to graduation. The pre-primary to first graders are taught in one building, while the elementary and high school students are taught together. The school also has a sub- campus in Wiesbaden. The main campus consists of approximately 1,200 students, while another 500 are taught in the International School Wiesbaden (ISW).

[edit] Academics

[edit] IBDP

Many subjects are currently taught in the Frankfurt International School. While all classes (with the exception of Foreign Languages) are taught in English, students are encouraged to learn more languages. In Group 1 and Group 2 subjects of the IB diploma English, German, French, Korean, Japanese, Spanish and Dutch are offered (many of which are offered in different levels of achievement). Other languages (like Hebrew and Swedish) are usually taken by students outside of the school; nevertheless, the school does offer the examination for these in the end of the IB program. For Group 3 subjects the school offers Economics, Business, History, Geography and recently has opened a Psychology course because of its popularity in the Middle Years Programme of the School. For Group 4 subjects, the school offers Physics, Biology and Chemistry. For Group 5 subjects, the school offers Math at 3 different levels, and Computer Science. For Group 6 subjects the school offers Visual Arts, Music and Theatre.

[edit] Athletics

Beyond being well respected academically, FIS has also developed a reputation for being one of the most dominant schools athletically. International schools compete within the International School Sports Tournament (ISST). The Frankfurt International School athletic teams are known as the "Frankfurt Warriors". The school offers different kinds of sports, including:

• Boy’s Soccer
• Girl’s Soccer
• Boy’s Basketball
• Girl’s Basketball
• Tennis
• Softball
• Baseball
• Boy’s Volleyball
• Girl’s Volleyball
• Cross Country
• Track and Field

After school activities offer more opportunities for athletics, such as:

• Fencing
• Dancing
• Martial Arts

In addition, the school has a football field, two gyms and a weight room.

[edit] Construction

A new building, the Arts and Science Building, will be soon done. The construction started in the 2005/6 school year, and is now nearly complete. The school hopes to be ready to move in at the end of fall break one, so when the students come back from their vacation on the 9th of October they will be able to use the new building. The new building will consist of a new Arts department (for Visual Arts, theater and music). It will have a new and improved band room, a state of the art drama department and new studios for visual arts. New science rooms, laboratories and preparation rooms are also being constructed, along with a brand new Robotics Lab. The school is also planning to create a new football field, which will be made out of artificial grass.

[edit] See also

• International Baccalaureate Organization

[edit] External links

• Frankfurt International School website
• FIS Parent Portal