High School

High School Principal's Letter

On behalf of the high school I want to welcome you to our website. I encourage you to take this opportunity to explore it fully. I hope it becomes clear to you through this site that in addition to promoting excellence through the academic courses, we believe strongly in developing well rounded lifelong learners and therefore place great value on our co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

The curriculum of the high school is primarily a college preparatory one, taught entirely in English. We offer students in grades 9 and 10 a curriculum based on the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) using the Cambridge (UK) programs of study. In grades 11 and 12 our students study the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB). While our students graduate with an American style diploma, they can also achieve IGCSE and IB Certificates in individual subjects as well as the IB Diploma.

We offer students opportunities to participate in a variety of activities including student government, performing arts, sports, MUN and community service. All of our students develop both an academic and an activities transcript based on the fundamentals of Community, Action and Service (CAS). We strive to have them recognize and develop their role as global citizens.

We believe students need to be active learners and that learning occurs both in and outside the classroom. Teachers are encouraged to plan field trips that make use of the diverse resources of the Aleppo area. Each year we offer a Regional Studies trip in which the entire school prepares for a cross curricular visit to a special area in the Middle East . Last year we explored the southern region of Syria including Palmyra and Bosra. The trip scheduled for 2005-2006 is to Turkey , in particular the Cappadoccia region.

The high school teachers are from a variety of backgrounds and experiences which helps to further the internationalism of our school. We are a small school and the teachers at IISA are not just deliverers of information. They are guides and mentors who strive to encourage each individual to meet his or her potential. As a result, our graduates have been courted by the best universities in the world and we are confident in them as future leaders.

For our alumni, our students and their families, and for our current and former faculty, this web site is a link not just to a school but to a community of learners, to an extended family that holds a special place in all our hearts. I hope as visitors to this site you will be able to see how very special we are.

Elizabeth Johnston

Principal