Re-enrollment time is here!

Dear SSIS Parents,

April is upon us and, as I do each year, I am writing to you with information regarding tuition and fees for next year and a reminder of the re-enrollment process. Time is flying and we are already looking just over the horizon to end of the year projects, tests and exams and the graduation of the Class of 2018.

Last spring, with input and involvement of our students, staff, teachers and family, SSIS adopted a three-year strategic plan for continued school improvement focused on “excellence”: excellence in our operations and governance, in our academic programs, in our faculty and their support, and with our communities. I hope that you have already begun to see some of the many improvements we are making in continuing to offer our students a world-class education. As a not-for-profit school, all of the tuition and fees collected each year are spent on the education we provide.

We have continued to improve school facilities with a safer entrance way for pick up and drop off, a new coffee shop and school store, as well as new meeting spaces for our dedicated PTA parents. We built new spaces for EAL teachers in the elementary school, remodeled science labs in middle school, and gave high school students better facilities for storing art as well as a new study lab. Both gyms were upgraded with dampening material in the ceiling to keep the cheering loud but make voices in those rooms understandable for teaching and learning. We improved our music practice rooms in the high school, and offices in the middle school.

This coming summer we’ll outfit our first STEM lab in the high school (to match the programs we already have in elementary and middle school) to support new offerings in engineering, robotics and computer programming. We will add even more new teaching spaces to accommodate our student numbers which continue to grow each year and we have hired additional counselors to support the social and emotional needs of our students as well. Next year our elementary school will move to a model of one EAL specialist per grade level to expand our ability to help all students in language acquisition and mastery. Starting next year, we will also have a full-time MS/HS STEM Director to propel our program forward into the future and we will continuing to expand both our IB and AP offerings for students Grade 10 and above in our high school.

Finally, we want to update our families on our steps regarding air quality in our classrooms. Some two years ago we began gathering data regarding air quality in District 7. We expanded our data gathering this year across our campus for both indoor and outdoor spaces. While we are pleased to report that conditions in District 7 remain substantially better than in other districts of HCMC, we know the importance of this issue for the health of our students, teachers, and staff. Our health and safety committee will shortly release a policy governing our responses to indoor/outdoor play and athletic activity in the event that local AQI readings breech a limit agreed upon by the international schools in the city. We already have purification systems in the classrooms of our youngest students and have made changes to the air filtration systems in all our buildings. This summer we will begin a major overall of our air handling units to ensure a quality environment for our community. 

Tuition and Fees

Some weeks ago, we released our Annual Report for 2016-2017. As it has been since its founding in 1997, SSIS is governed on a not-for-profit model and all tuition and fees received from parents are invested in the school and the costs of your children’s education. Our largest expenses, by far, are the academic program of the school and the retention of outstanding teachers and support staff. Your child’s tuition is an investment in the excellent education they receive every day here at this School.

In looking at the Fee Schedule for 2018 –2019, you will see a tuition increase of 5-8% for the coming school year depending on year level. We are very aware that our families make sacrifices to give their children the very best education, and we do everything we can to control costs and improve efficiencies. SSIS is committed, though, to continuing to fund improvements to our programs and facilities.

Re-Enrollment for 2018 –2019

Enclosed is the Statement of Tuition and Fees for 2018-2019 along with instructions on how to complete your re-enrollment online, and an invoice for re-enrollment deposit of VND 45,000,000  for each of your children. We ask that the deposit be paid no later than 16 April 2018.

We are pleased that inquiries and applications for enrollment at SSIS continue to be strong. Again this year, demand will exceed seats available in many grades. Therefore, it is vital that we know each family’s intention for next year.

Please ensure that the re-enrollment is completed through the PowerSchool Parent Portal by the 16 April 2018 deadline. Doing this, and paying the re-enrollment fee by April 16, will ensure that a seat for your child is reserved for the coming school year. The re-enrollment fee will be credited against tuition if paid in full for the 2018 –2019 school year or the by fourth quarter if you choose to pay in installments.

Should you have any questions concerning re-enrollment, please contact our Director of Admissions, Ms. Katie Rigney-Zimmermann, or by calling the school, +84 28 54130901 ext. 31140. Questions concerning the new tuition and fees should be directed to the Associate Head of School for Finance and Operations, Ms. Wai Mun Fong, or to me, as Head of School.

It is a privilege to serve SSIS as Head of School and I thank you for the opportunity to work with your sons and daughters as they mature as young men and women of both learning and character.

Sincerely yours,

Mark Iver Sylte, Head of School