DESCRIPTION of SIBS HIGH SCHOOL:  

 

Brief History of SIBS 


Springboard International Bilingual School (SIBS) was founded in 2000. Since then, SIBS has gone through two stages in our development into a premier international school in China. In the first decade from 2000 to 2010, SIBS had admitted and educated foreign passport holder students for their secondary school years, and developed many students to gain entrance by passing exams into China's premier universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and People's University of China. In the second decade from 2010, SIBS established our current campus in Beijing Shunyi Houshayu area, and become a K-12 international bilingual school that accepts both foreign and Chinese nationals students. SIBS has educated in the past 20 years over 3000 students and fed them through graduation in elementary, middle, and high school to top-notched secondary and high schools, colleges, and universities in the world.  

 

In twenty years of SIBS's founding, SIBS has become a recognized force of international education in China, well established among the nationally renowned cluster of international schools in Beijing Shunyi Central Up-scale Residential community.  SIBS has established a reputation for a solid and effective bilingual instructional system, a U.S. CommonCore-based international curriculum with outstanding foreign teachers predominantly from the Western countries (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia). SIBS's founder and the first Head of School, Madame Zhang Aijun championed the idea to build a solid foundation for the school to sustain for centuries to come.  

 

SIBS has achieved approvals and credentials to operate as an international school in many aspects. SIBS is approved and licensed by the Beijing City Education Committee and Beijing Shunyi District Education Bureau to operate as a nationally-accredited school, combining early childhood center, kindergarten, elementary school, and secondary schools. SIBS is authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). SIBS is accredited by Cogniaapproved by the United States College Board to offer Advanced Placement courses, Cambridge Assessment International Examination (CAIE) to offer IGCSE and ALevel courses. SIBS is also approved as candidate schools for IBPYP and IBMYP schools.  

 

SIBS high school has evolved over the last twenty years from first preparing international students for domestic Universities of China to preparing Chinese and international students for overseas (mainly US and Canada) universities.   

 

School Campus: 

The SIBS campus is located in Shunyi District, northeast of the Beijing metropolitan area. We are 30 minutes away from Beijing Capital International Airport. The SIBS campus occupies a footprint of 25000 squared meters and has floor space over 40,000 squared meters. SIBS is located in a secured and secluded campus, equipped with instructional facilities, boarding rooms, sports fields, indoor multipurpose gymnasiumsdining facilities, and library.  

 

Instructional Facility 

The SIBS instructional facilities support small-class-size teaching and learning by providing a spacious sun-lit classroom equipped with a smart whiteboard, heating, air conditioning, and air-renewal systems. Average floor space per student in each classroom is above 4 square meters.  

 

Laboratory Facility 

SIBS high school is equipped with three science laboratories: biology, chemistry, and physics. The high school also has a computer laboratory to support online testing, technology class, and instruction.  

 

Library 

SIBS high school library has more than 10,000 circulated books for loan. To support research and course work for IB Theory of Knowledge class and Extended Essay, students can access millions of journals and periodicals through EBSCO electronic database.  

 

A day in the life of a SIBS High Schooler:  

The high school students follow a schedule that starts at 8:30 am and ends between 4:30 and 5:30 pm. Boarding students have night-study convening at 6:00-8:30 pm, with supervision and learning support. Students attend classes of 45-minute each period with a 5-minute transition in between. There are eight periods plus a 20-minute homeroom meeting each day. On Tuesday and Thursday, students participate in club/activity or learning support during 4:30-5:20 pm.  

 

Recognition and Academic Achievement of SIBS:  

--Scored 344 out of 400, in Index of Education Quality by Cognia Accreditation Committee 

--Winning US National Gold Medal in 2019-20 Scholastic Art and Writing Contest, Painting Category; and also Honorable Mention in the same contest;  

--Founder, and the first Head of School, Madame Zhang Aijun2016 Influential Educator of the Year, by SINA Education News Media; 

--2019 Exemplary Charitable Work by Education Entity of the Year, by Tencent Education Media, in recognition of SIBS support to an Inner Mongolia special education school 

--2020 Global Top 64 of International Public Policy Forum Essay/Debate Contest (ippfdebate.com), organized by New York University and Brewster Foundation. 

 

SIBS High School Pedagogy:  

SIBS uses small class instruction. SIBS stays current in our pedagogy with the latest research results and educational trends. We embrace the four shifts of educational paradigm – High-order thinking, Technology Infusion, Student Agency, and Authentic Work. High school faculty regularly uses project-based learning and inquiry-based learning to organize student learning. SIBS high schools are supported in learning extensively. We provide both pull-out and push-in ESL support for English learners. Students can engage individually with teachers for additional 1v1 learning support. SIBS high school students are expected to read a lot, write a lot and speak a lot in-class participation in order to meet the course requirement.   

 

Clubs and Activities 

The academic programs at SIBS are intensive, therefore, currently, we offer the following somewhat limited clubs and activities:  

Sports: Basketball, Soccer, Golf 

Club: Debate, Drama, Brass Band, Pop Band, Math Competition, Film and Video, ACG Culture Studies, 3D Design; Robotics Programming, Modern Visual ArtK-Pop Dance 

Activity: Hand Craft, Board Game,  

 


SIBS High School COURSE OFFERINGS  

 

High School Courses:  

Taught in English:  

English Language Art, English B (Language Acquisition), Mathematics (algebra I&II, geometry I&II, pre-calculus); Social Studies, Visual Art, Music, Media, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Physical and Health Education;  

 

Taught in Chinese: 

Chinese Literature and Language Art 

 

Advanced Placement Courses:  

AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics 1 & 2, AP Physics C, AP Chemistry, AP Biology; AP Calculus AB/BC 

 

The above courses are audited and approved by the College board to list as “AP” courses both here and in the transcript. Students can take AP exams over a three-week period in May of each school year, administered by testing centers approved by the US College board here in China or in neighboring regions such as Hong Kong and South Korea.  

 

Potential IBDP Courses Offering in the School Year 2021-22:  

 

Group 1  

Group 2 

Group 4 

Group 5 

English A Language and Literature SL/HL 

English B SL/HL 

Biology SL/HL 

Chemistry SL/HL 

Math Analysis and Application SL/HL 

Chinese A Language and Literature SL/HL 


Physics SL/HL 

Math  


Group 3 


Group 6: 


History SL/HL 


Visual Arts SL/HL 


Economics SL/HL 



 

The IB Examinations take place over a three-week period in May of the senior year, involving 22-30 hours of testing. Students received a score of 0-7 per course and may receive bonus points for their Extended Essay and assessments in Theory of Knowledge for a maximum of 45 points.  

 

SIBS is scheduled to become a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization and to offer the IB Diploma Program, a high school curriculum available in English, French, and Spanish around the worldTo be taught in English at SIBS, the IB is recognized worldwide and is highly valued for its depth and rigor. The aim of the IB program is to develop “internationally-minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.” To receive an IB diploma, the student must complete the following:  

 

Three Higher Level (HL) courses (five 50-minute periods/week) and three Standard Level (SL) courses (three 50-minute periods/week) covering six groups; • Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course (two 50-minute periods/week); • Extended Essay, a 4000-word essay drawing on one of the six disciplines making up the IB program; • Creativity, Action, Service (CAS), and extra-curricular requirement over two years, including the central element of student reflection.  

 

 

Offered in the School Year 2020-21:  

Cambridge Assessment International Education, International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE):  

 

SIBS also offers IGCSE, designed by Cambridge Assessment International Education more than 30 years ago. The curriculum is the most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year old due to its academic rigor. IGCSE allows SIBS to offer a broad and balanced curriculum from five different subject groups, including two different languages. 

 

Group 1: Languages 

Chinese -First Language 

Chinese (Mandarin)-Foreign Language 

English-First Language 

English as a Second Language (Speaking endorsement) 

Group 2: Humanities and Social Science 

Economics 

Geography 

History 

World Literature 

Group 3: Science 

Biology 

Chemistry 

Physics 

Co-ordinated Science 

Combined Science 

Group 4: Mathematics 

Additional Mathematics 

Mathematics 

Group 5: Creative and Professional 

Cambridge Global Perspectives 

Computer Science 

 

Students in SIBS must take two different languages from Group 1, and one subject from each of Groups 2, 3, 4 and 5. The seventh subject can be taken from any of the five subject groups. But the course of Global Perspectives must be selected in Group 5, if the student expects to gain ICE Certificate.  

 

Cambridge IGCSE assessment takes place at the end of the course and can include written, oral, coursework and practical assessment. This broadens opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning, particularly when their first language is not English. Grades are benchmarked using eight internationally recognized grades, A* to G with clear guidelines to explain the standard of achievement for each grade, which is provided by Cambridge Assessment International Education 

 

SIBS Graduation Requirements:  

 
To meet minimum graduation requirements, SIBS high school graduates must complete 20 yearlong high school courses with a letter grade of C or better and at least 15 of them prior to their last year of high school. Each yearlong high school course counted towards graduation requirement must meet at least 3 45-minute periods each week for 40 school weeks. In addition to course load requirement, SIBS high school graduate must complete the following minimum requirement for special categories of courses:分页符 

  1. Four years of Mathematics 

  1. Four years of English 

  1. Four years of Chinese 

  1. Three years of Social Studies 

  1. Three years of Science (with at least two subjects) 

  1. Two years of Visual and/or performing arts;  

  1. Two years of College-preparatory elective 

 

Students must also take four years of physical and health education (PHE) with passing grades in each year; Students must also participate in at least one club/activity each school year and perform 30 hours of community service each school year.  

 

SIBS Faculty Body:  

The SIBS high school faculty is an international group of credentialed and licensed teachers from around the world and China.  

Multilingualism: 100% of teachers speak English. 70% of teachers speak bilingually in English and Chinese. Degrees: 10% Ph.D.; 60% Masters’ Degree; 30% Bachelor’s Degree 

Nationalities: China, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Russia;  

 

Grading Policy: 

Letter Grade 

Raw Grade 

Grade Point 

AP Grade Point 

A+ 

N/A 

5.0 

5 

A 

94 – 100 

4.0 

4 

A- 

90 – 93 

3.7 

-- 

B+ 

87 - 89 

3.3 

-- 

B 

83 – 86 

3.0 

3 

B- 

80 – 82 

2.7 

-- 

C+ 

77 - 79 

2.3 

-- 

C 

70- 76 

2.0 

2 

D+ 

67 – 69 

1.3 

-- 

D 

60 – 66 

1.0 

-- 

NE 

0 – 59 

0.0 

-- 

 

Students who have taken AP exams can pass through their AP exam grades into our transcript to calculate GPA.