Frequently Asked Questions

The school day is from 8:20 – 3:30. For our littlest learners we do offer a half day Pre-Nursery program that runs from 8:20 – 11:45. Students in this program depart before lunch and naptime.

Our school welcomes students as young as 2 years old and is proud to graduate our grade 12s to higher learning institutions worldwide. Our total student body is typically about 1150 students, but our Early Years program has space for 200 students across our 4 grade levels.

We will not exceed 20 students per classroom.

Our Pre-Nursery classes enjoy a 5 to 1 ratio, while our Nursery, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes enjoy a 7 to 1 ratio. All of our Early Years classes have 3 or more dedicated adults in the classroom.

There is never homework sent home, although library books will be sent home each week for parents to read with their children. You may also receive information about our Units of Inquiry with suggestions and follow-up activities you can do at home with your child.

Even some of our youngest learners will have the opportunity to go on field trips during the year. Examples of these might be a trip to a place of interest such as garden, museum or zoological center. These trips are always linked closely to the current Programme of Inquiry.

Our Pre-Nursery class naps from 12:30 – 2:30, while our Nursery students nap from 1:30 – 2:30. Both classes have dedicated nap rooms that are dark, quiet and comfy. Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten do not have a dedicated nap time.

Our Pre-Nursery students are permitted to be in diapers throughout the day. All other children must be toilet trained upon entering SSIS. We have a rigorous diapering and toilet training policy. Diapers are checked hourly and we have a system to help support toilet training efforts that start at home. Nursery students are allowed to wear diapers during naptime only, but must be toilet trained.

Yes, we bus even our littlest learners to and from school. To keep everyone safe and happy, we ensure an adult, other than the driver, is on the bus each morning and afternoon. This bus attendant will also walk your child to and from the classroom at school.

There is no need to pack. We offer a full catering service for our students. If you are bringing your own food, please note we do not have heating facilities in our Early Years center. We also request parents refrain from packing sweets, cookies and candy. Please pack enough food for your child to enjoy a morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack.

Our Early Years meal program consists of a morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack. We believe that good food and nutrition promotes healthy eating habits. Students typically select from a well-rounded assortment of fresh fruits, two hot dishes such as pasta, baked chicken or pork stir fry and cold veggies at lunch time. Yoghurt, rice crackers, fruit and muffins are offered at snack times. Milk is offered in the mornings.

Pre-Nursery eat in their classroom. Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten eat lunch in our Early Years canteen, while our Kindergartens start in our Early Years canteen and transition to our big canteen later in the school year.

No two days are the same at SSIS. Check out our sample schedule in our Early Years curriculum section.

Our after school extracurricular activities start in Kindergarten. More information on those can be found on our Elementary Activities page. Private music and swim lessons are available through our Community Learning Hub for an additional fee for Pre-Kindergarten and above.

Students are engaged in 40 minutes of Chinese lessons each day. We also offer a German language class for native German speakers.

Being an international school, our teachers come from all around the world. They are highly qualified and have passed a rigorous background check. SSIS policy as well as Chinese government rules & regulations also mandate that all of our teachers must hold degrees in education and active teaching certifications from their home country of record.

We hate when our students are sick. If we notice a child is feeling ill, we will send them to our on-site school nurse to be evaluated. We request that parents do not send their children to school with a fever and request the child does not return until 24 hours after the fever has passed.  All of our Early Years classrooms are equipped with infrared lights to kill surface germs. These are turned on every night.

Yes, all classrooms and other major areas of our school are continuously filtered.

Yes. We have a strict outside play policy that is both weather and AQI dependent.