aisct – 四虎影院 Fri, 15 Sep 2023 10:52:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/uploads/2023/04/faviconV2.png aisct – 四虎影院 32 32 Back to School /back-to-school/ Thu, 04 Aug 2022 18:54:22 +0000 https://www.websterstudio.co.za/?p=11667

Welcome back, AISCT!

We are excited to start the 2022-2023 school year which marks our 25th year anniversary! What started out in 1997 with 18 students in a house in Rondebosch is now one of the oldest and largest international schools in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Students joined us back at school at The 四虎影院 (AISCT) on August 2, and it marks a new year and a new chapter for AISCT. It was wonderful to see all of our new and returning families on campus yesterday. We welcomed 79 new students this school year. A very warm welcome to all of our newest Grizzlies!

Reflecting on 25 Years

While the past three years have been especially challenging, the AISCT community responded to each twist and turn of the pandemic. We have come out of this stronger than ever as a cohesive community and are poised for our best year yet. We have also seen many other successes in the past few years. We launched our scholarship program, supporting youth with limited financial means from previously disenfranchised population groups in South Africa. We sent off hundreds of graduates to universities and opportunities all around the world. We welcomed our youngest learners to the Grizzlies Cubs, and we continue to see all our students flourish in their learning development.

In our first 25 years, we have grown from strength to strength, and that is made possible by our Board of Governors, our leadership team, our teachers and staff, our parents and, of course, our students. For the past few years during COVID-19, the expression 鈥減rogress, not perfection鈥 has been one of our guiding principles. While that has served us exceptionally well, it is now time to turn to a new expression that will guide us into the future.

It鈥檚 a great day to be a Grizzly!

Follow us throughout this year as we honor our history, celebrate our present, and look toward the future.

AISCT Blogs, ,

Welcome Back, Grizzlies!

]]> Congratulations to the AISCT Class of 2022 /congratulations-to-the-aisct-class-of-2022/ Thu, 09 Jun 2022 18:55:47 +0000 https://www.websterstudio.co.za/?p=11670

This year鈥檚 graduating class consisted of 27 seniors from 17 countries. For our seniors, the past four years have been challenging. What started out as a normal 10th-grade experience quickly turned upside down, and only in the past few months have we returned to a more normalized environment.

Seniors experienced an incredible juxtaposition between the start and end of their high school years, but after navigating their young adult life through this stark contrast, they appear more confident and resilient than ever. This period of time has brought so many different things and to each of them in a different way: loss, grief, hope, helplessness, opportunity, love, focus, friendships, and memories that will last forever.

It has been a transformational journey. During this time, seniors have shifted their priorities, re-evaluated what is important, found their voice, and used their power and influence to positively impact both AISCT and our surrounding communities. They continued to push and challenge themselves with 96% of the graduates taking three or more Advanced Placement (AP) college-level classes.

It is no wonder they have been accepted to 85 universities in 12 countries and have received over R16 million in scholarships to date.

Offers for South African universities which have later application dates will be received in several months, but for our students looking to go overseas, the opportunities are many. There were multiple offers to Penn State, Syracuse University, Boston University, and Northeastern University, among many other colleges in the USA. There were multiple offers to the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto in Canada. Within the UK, there were offers to Oxford University, SOAS University of London, Cardiff University, Suffolk University, and more. In Europe, offers included Erasmus University, Utrecht University, Geneva School of Business, EU Business School, the University of Malta, and more. Some students are making their way to Australia and New Zealand with offers at the University of Auckland, the University of Queensland, and the University of Sydney. These are only a few of the schools on the extensive list of offers, and some of our students have decided to take a well-deserved gap year or have chosen a non-tertiary path.

Whatever the next steps, they are well-prepared for their lives ahead.

A Message to our Graduates

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you, not only for your academic achievements but for your perseverance, personal development, global citizenship, and your adaptability. We know great things lie ahead for you. Wherever your path leads, we wish you the very best!

It is an honor to call you all Grizzlies!

Congratulations, Class of 2022!

]]> AISCT: The Beginning /aisct-the-beginning/ Tue, 08 Feb 2022 19:12:11 +0000 https://www.websterstudio.co.za/?p=11681

This year, The 四虎影院 (AISCT) turns 25. AISCT was established in 1997, with our first academic school year beginning on September 16 of the same year.

We began in a double-story home in Rondebosch with 18 students. The founders, one of whom was Dr. Pat Gorvalla, a South African educator and businesswoman, saw the need for a school with an international curriculum that followed the northern hemisphere calendar, one that could serve expatriate families living in Cape Town who were with consulates and NGOs, in addition to providing pathways abroad for South African students.

Starting with grades Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8, the school was initially accredited by the European Council of International Schools in the United Kingdom. Enrollment quickly grew and the hunt for a larger campus began.

The AISCT Campus

Since 1949, 42 Soetvlei Avenue in Constantia has been a place of dedicated learning. In November of 1948, the Sisters of Notre Dame from France were granted permission by the Vatican to start a training school in Cape Town. They found an idyllic piece of land, originally part of the Sweet Valley Farm, on which to build their convent and school. The legacy they left behind are the beautiful Cape Dutch style buildings that house AISCT鈥檚 learning spaces today.

After 25 years of running their primary school, the Sisters鈥 funding from the Vatican dried up, and the property was handed over to the South African government. The campus then became a reformatory for girls, but after some time the school was closed and the campus was left empty.

Photograph漏Notre Dame Association of South Africa
When the Board of AISCT investigated the property, it needed a lot of work to bring it back to its original grandeur, but the Board members had a clear vision of what it could be. They leased the property from the South African government in 2001, starting immediately with complete renovations, and they opened the doors to students in January 2002.

Continuous Campus Improvement

This year marks 20 years of learning on our current campus. During those years, we have added and expanded while maintaining the historical richness. An example of this is the Little Theater, which was once a chapel and still has its original stained glass windows. It is a historical landmark that adds to the unique feel of the AISCT campus. The campus today includes multiple sporting facilities, performing arts spaces, spacious classrooms, outdoor playgrounds, extensive grounds with indigenous gardens and more, all nestled below the beautiful mountain scenes of Cape Town.

Through our commitment to environmental sustainability, our campus has also earned Silver Status as an . We are waterwise with rainwater and groundwater collection, saving 1 million liters of city water each year. We have solar panels and retrofitted LED lights, which reduce our electricity consumption by 50%.

An American School in Cape Town

AISCT鈥檚 enrollment steadily increased to our current enrollment of just under 500 students. It has become a school for all nations, with over 50 nationalities represented in the student body. We were accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in 2006 which allowed us to develop pathways to the USA, as well as the rest of the world, for our expatriate and South African students. AISCT is also endorsed as an independent school by the Western Cape Education Department.

Our first graduating class was in 2007, and since then, our students have gone to universities and colleges all over the world and have received millions of US dollars in university scholarships. The USA, Canada, UK, Europe, and South Africa are the most popular destinations with AISCT graduates. This past year we celebrated students getting offers to Oxford University, Cornell University, Brown University, Howard University, The University of Edinburgh, The University of British Columbia, among many others.

Graduates from the AISCT Class of 2021.

Inclusion and Diversity

AISCT was started as a school that would bring together students from varied and diverse backgrounds, and this holds true today. We believe a diverse, inclusive, and equitable school community is critical for all of us to participate in a complex and interconnected society. We provide a space where all members of the school community feel a sense of belonging.

This is who AISCT is today. Read the full AISCT prospectus here.

]]>