Though the Kistlers couldn’t visit the campus before enrolling their children, Singapore American School has exceeded their expectations in many ways.
As their family moved to Singapore during the pandemic, Mike and Jennifer Kistler didn’t have the chance to go on campus tours prior to enrolling their children. They eventually decided to send the kids to Singapore American School (SAS), and they’re glad to share that the school has exceeded their expectations!
Hi Mike and Jennifer, can you tell us more about your children who attend SAS?
Our daughter is in Grade 2, and our son is in Pre-K at the Early Learning Center.
What were the most important factors for you in selecting a school for them?
The factors we were considering included the space offered on campus, whether the school has a wide offering of activities within the curriculum and extracurricular activities, the transparency offered in communication, and the recommendation of current and former families of the school.
We eventually chose to enrol our children at SAS because there’s so much space on campus – especially outdoors – which allows students to have lots of physical activities while sharing the same campus. We’ve also heard good things about the school from current and former SAS families.
What syllabus does SAS offer?
The school work aligns with American schools – which we like – while also providing more challenge and support where appropriate for every child. Next year, our son will start in the Chinese Immersion kindergarten, and we’re excited that he will have the opportunity to have this experience.
How has it been so far – has SAS lived up to your expectations?
Yes! Considering that campus space is such an important factor for us, and we were not able to visit the school prior to enrolling due to COVID, SAS has exceeded our expectations in allowing the kids so much space and opportunity to develop and try new things. On top of that, the teachers were able to connect with our kids as individuals from the very start of the year and help them adjust after an international move.
That’s good to hear! What is your children’s favourite part about SAS?
Our daughter has found the academic work to be engaging and enjoyable, with many options for extracurricular activities like gymnastics and STEM classes.
Our son, on the other hand, loves all the outdoor time with bikes, playgrounds, and playing with his classmates, many of whom have become friends outside of class as well.
Sounds great! What about your experience as parents with the school?
SAS offers many options to connect with parents through regular meetings, both informative and on a social basis. It allows parents to find an avenue that suits their schedule and preferences.
Given that it’s a big school with a large community, there’s a lot of information that needs to be communicated. We think that SAS does a good job of helping parents to find the information that’s relevant without overloading them.
What do you value most about SAS?
SAS is a great school because it sets high academic and personal standards for the school and its students, and it supports the students and families to meet these standards. Due to all the positive experiences we’ve had since joining the SAS community, we’re happy that we’ve been able to trust the teachers with our children’s physical, emotional, and academic needs. All the staff have gone above and beyond to make sure that each of our children is getting their needs met: from finding a missing sweatshirt, bandaging a skinned knee to trickier issues like managing peer relationships. The teachers asked a lot of questions before our kids’ start date and used that information to help them feel supported.
Thank you for sharing with us, Mike and Jennifer!
This post is in partnership with Singapore American School.
