Our establishment 16 years ago by our sister school in Singapore, has offered  us a successful model and  prototype for an international school without one dominant cultural group. Our mission and vision is one of international relationships.  Thus, students do not feel that they have to relinquish their own cultural identity for the majority culture. Our teachers come from 14 countries and our students from almost 40.  We offer a full International Baccalaureate curriculum to students from 5-19 years old.  This program has, at its core, the mission and core values  to develop intercultural relationships and peace among the nations.

Our Mission

BISS is an IB World School serving the international community, committed to the ideals of the International Baccalaureate. Our mission is to educate and empower our students to attain personal excellence and positively impact the world.

Our Core Values

We believe in embracing diversity and treating everyone with dignity and respect.
We believe in living a balanced life.
We believe that people thrive in a caring, safe, healthy and stimulating environment.
We believe in acting with integrity, taking responsibility, and learning from our actions.
We believe in working for a better future by helping others and conserving our planet’s resources.
 

We believe in striving for excellence.
 

At BISS, interpersonal relationships are of great importance.  Since we are a small school, it is much easier for us to establish these relationships and respond with agility to the various constituent groups.  For example, many of our parents have difficulty communicating with us in English.  Thus, we established adult language classes in both English and Chinese, so that the language barriers would be diminished.  We also offer numerous strategies for parents to communicate with the school, via emails, agenda books, Study-wiz, telephone, parent-teacher meetings, Monthly Parent Forums by random invitation, and also, drop-in and chat opportunities. 
 

Students at BISS use engaging technologies in collaborative, inquiry-based learning environments with teachers who are willing and able to use technology’s power to assist in transforming knowledge and skills into products, solutions and new information. This includes our 1:1 mobile computing implementation as well as our StudyWiz and Wikispaces initiatives for virtual sharing and learning. A 21st Century learner at BISS has the tools and the support to connect, communicate and collaborate across the school and, just as easily, across the world. In addition all learners at BISS are able to create products, often in collaboration with others not at BISS that solve problems and make a difference to the world, as we know it.At BISS, we believe that technology skills and digital literacy should be fully integrated into all curriculum areas and teaching. During the Elementary school years, students will develop appropriate tech skills that they can utilize in every subject. Technology will be used as a tool in all areas of learning and a BISS student will become fluent in the use of technology to further their learning and have the appropriate skills to do this.

All teachers and students at BISS are expected to use digital technology, including desktop computers, laptops and handheld devices, school network facilities and associated online tools in an ethical, culturally sensitive and appropriate manner for an educational community. At all times BISS community members are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which is cognizant of the rights, feeling and freedoms of others as well as themselves. Due consideration must be given at all times to the effects one's actions have on other members of the BISS community, the host country and our global community. When using digital technologies at home or at school, digital citizenship in terms of responsible, reliable and respectful use is expected.

BISS Feels Real

I wanted to share with you what I heard from the IF Juice vendors on Saturday. Flo ( one of the owners) said he had been at another Beijing International School festival last week, but that he felt so much more comfortable with the individuality of BISS. He has worked a lot with Cherrie, on the PTA, and has spent some time in the school. He commented that people worry about the facilities at BISS not matching those at the biggger schools, but he much prefers the "organic" and student-created feeling of our hallways and classrooms. There is nothing sterlie or overly businesslike at BISS - it is what a school should look like.

Mary
BISS Teacher

BISS is located in the heart of one of the most dynamic, historical and culturally rich cities in the world. This prime location is favorable to families who prefer to live and work in the city and it cuts down the long, traffic- delayed travel time of children in school buses.

BISS was the first international school to be established in Beijing for grades K-12, over16 years ago. It was founded by the organizers of the International School of Singarpore, which itself has 30 years of success educating students from innumerable countries.
 

We are the first school in Beijing and one of the first in China authorized for all three IB programs and accredited by Council of International Schools (CIS)- International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO); Western Association of Schools and Colleges(WASC); National Centre for School Curriculum and Textbook Development (NCCT), and licensed by the Beijing Education Commission.

At BISS we are sensitive to the needs of all our constituents:  students, parents and educators.  We understand the challenges of relocating to a new city and new country, and then to integrate oneself into a new school and a new life.

We also understand that every family and every student is different and has different needs.  As we are a small school, we are able to gauge these differences quickly in order to best  serve each individual.  For these reasons, we have appropriate services in transition education and orientation for Third Culture Kids and their parents, special learning needs, counseling, gifted & talented, medical, university searches, cafeteria, mother tongue, adult language education, and more.

BISS is the first school in Beijing and one of the first in China authorized for all three IB programmes - Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and IB Diploma Programme (DP). We are starting a Field Education porgramme that will be incorporate.

BISS is a small school with a big spirit and very good academic results - nearly 100% success in IBDP. Our graduates have been accepted at top universities like Harvard University, Columbia University, Stanford University, McGill University, National University of Singapore etc. BISS alumni network comprised students from universities all over the world. (Email: alumni@biss.com.cn)

The language of instruction at BISS is English. However, we offer additional languages according to the needs and levels of our students.  We offer Language A1 classes (mother tongue) in Korean, Japanese and Chinese. We also offer Chinese and Spanish as foreign languages for beginner and intermediate levels.

Recent research indicates that small schools have many advantages for individual students, their parents and even, the teachers. Here at BISS, we observe these added benefits on each member of the community. Small schools are able to offer a  more caring environment with a true sense of community and personal accountability.

In small schools, students are known by their peers, as well as by their teachers and administrators. As one of our young students said, “I never get lost at school.”  Because students feel at home in our small school, they feel a great sense of trust and know that they are receiving support from all sides. They know that even if they make a mistake, they will not be embarrassed. Even the most introverted of students develop strong communication and leadership skills in a small school.  Students also know that they can participate in any activity, regardless of their skill level.  Thus, if they are very short, they will still be able to join the basketball team…and play!

Teachers in small schools describe a close sense of community and commitment and feel that they are able to contribute and make a difference. They actually see each other on a daily basis and, thus, can support each other and  have greater opportunities for collaboration and collegiality.

In addition to being small in size, we also have very small class sizes which allow teachers greater opportunity to give the personal attention and assistance which will help their students reach their maximum potential and achievement.