Seoul Foreign School

Seoul Foreign School

Established	1912
School type	Private School
Head of School
Address	55 Yonhidong Seoul, Republic of Korea 120-113
Coordinates	coord|37|34|9|N|126|56|13|E|type:edu|display=inline,title
Enrollment	~1,500
Organizational Membership	[http://www.nais.org/ National Association of Independent Schools] [http://www.cois.org/ Council of International Schools] [http://www.acsi.org/web2003/default.aspx?ID=1606 Association of Christian Schools Internationa] [http://www.fobissea.org/ Federation of British International Schools in South East Asia (Fobissea)] [http://www.earcos.org/ East AsianRegional Council of Overseas Schools] [http://www.ibo.org/ IB World School] [http://www.disabilityindia.org/ National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped]
Athletic Conference	[http://www.kaiac.org/ KAIAC] APAC
Colors	Red Black
Nickname	The Crusaders
Homepage	[http://www.sfs.or.kr Official Site]

Located in Seoul, South Korea, the Seoul Foreign School is a K-12, IB World school, founded in 1912 that is an international school and offers a Western-style education to international students with an emphasis on "Christian values." The school is located in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu.

Divisions

The school is currently divided into 4 divisions. British, Elementary, Middle, and High school.

British School

The British School (SFBS) offers a curriculum based around the English National Primary Strategy and National Curriculum for Reception to Year 9. SFBS spans Year 1 to Year 9. The Head Teacher is Mr. Timothy Gray, MBE.

Elementary School

The elementary school (SFES) offers a curriculum based on standard U.S.-style grade school education. Grade levels include PreK to 5th grade. The current Principal is Mr. John Gaylord and the ES Counselor is Ms. Annette Faldyn. School uniforms will be introduced to SFES in the school year 2008-2009. The Seoul Foreign Elementary School offers specials for every student including Music, Korean, Computers, Library, Art, and PE. The 2008/09 school year will mark the first year of full completion of the new building including a new cafeteria, performance hall, media center/library, classrooms and spirit store.

Middle School

The middle school (SFMS) offers a curriculum based on standard U.S.-style middle school programs. The grade levels are 6 through 8. The principal is Mrs. Lynn Gaylord . The MS Counselor is Mr. Dale Swanson. School uniforms will be introduced to SFMS in the school year 2008-2009.

High School

The high school (SFHS) offers a curriculum based on standard U.S.-style high school programs. The grade levels are 9 through 12. During junior and senior year, the IB Diploma Programme is offered. The principal is Mr. Kevin Baker. The assistant principal is Mr. J. P. Rader. The HS Counselors are Mr. Chuck Krugler, Mrs. Helen Rader and Mr. Joon Myong.

Influences of Christianity

Seoul Foreign School, founded in 1912 by missionaries to Korea, has grown into a premier international college-preparatory school all the while holding to its Christian roots, philosophy, and ethos. In particular, it is committed to education within a caring Christian environment and consistent with the highest Christian values. The school provides programs designed to give an understanding of the Christian faith, both through a study of Bible and consideration of historical and contemporary understandings of Christianity. Through personal example and through certain extra-curricular activities, the school aims to encourage students to make the truths of the Christian faith a matter of personal commitment.

Discovery Week

Exclusive to the high school is Discovery Week, which is a mandatory 5-10 day program usually held around the last week of May to the first week of June. [ Discovery Week [http://sfs.or.kr/high/discovery.html] ] Extracurricular activities such as overseas trips and local activities are provided at a cost. The cost of overseas trips range from $1800 USD to $3000 USD. Local activities can be things such as sports (golfing, basketball), city photography and excursions, and in-school activities such as computer gaming, or American Red Cross Lifeguarding. The cost range of local activities ranges from about $100 USD to $700 USD.

Athletic Facilities

Seoul Foreign School has an indoor sports complex which houses two gyms, each with several basketball courts, as well as one weight training room. Also, located outside are two more basketball courts (next to the soccer field). More basketball courts can also be found on the British school playground. There is a soccer (football) field and a running track. There is also an indoor pool and two tennis courts are situated above it. Two more tennis courts are situated adjacent to the British school playground. There is also a gymnastics room for various uses ranging from acrobatics workout to ballet practice. An additional four tennis courts are located on the roof of the MPC (Multi-Purpose Center).

Extracurricular Activities

Seoul Foreign School supports a number of activities. At the HS level, an academical activity is the AMC (American Math Contest) competition with three levels of competition: 8th grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade. SFS High School has an active Model United Nations activity with weekly meetings and two meets annually (one in Seoul and the other in Beijing.) A Speech and Debate team also represents SFS with forensic meets with local and area schools. SFS Middle School participates in an area Spelling Bee, KMO and other clubs. There are also sports and other after-school activities, such as the Jazz Band/Ensemble, chess club, instrumental private lessons. Film club is also a popular club that meets on mondays to create films and at the end of the year, hosts a film festival with all the profit going to GIN (Global Issues Network). For the ES, many "fun" and educational activities occur after school. Additional activities are sponsored by each division's "Senate", or Student Council. These activities include dances, swims and various other events throughout the school year.

Famous Alumni

Ken Jennings: holds the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy!

Eddie Shin: Korean pop artist

References

= External links =
* [http://www.sfs.or.kr Official website]
* [http://www.kaiac.org Official KAIAC website]