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Newly Founded East Asia Pacific International Schools Association (EAPISA) to Serve Schools and Students in the EARCOS Region!
Many of us have words embracing global competency within our mission and vision statements. At the American School in Taichung (AST), being a competent global citizen is an aspirational goal for each of our students. This said, while we provide skill development to address these competencies, we felt we lacked authentic learning experiences to forward growth in this area. Therefore, on December 11, 2023 we sent a call-out to other smaller (500-600 and under) international schools within the EARCOS region to see if they would be interested in forming an international sports/activities conference. The idea would be for our students to have rich international cultural exchanges and competitions/activities with other students from within the region.
Fortunately, there was immediate excitement and the following schools committed to collaborating and developing an association together:
American School in Taichung (AST), TAIWAN
Avenues Shenzhen, CHINA
Bali Island School (BIS), INDONESIA
Branksome Hall Asia (BHA), KOREA
Canggu Community School (CCS), INDONESIA
Delta Global School (DGS), VIETNAM
Hanoi International School (HIS), VIETNAM
International School of Western Australia (ISWA), AUSTRALIA
ISS International School Singapore (ISS), SINGAPORE
Ivy Collegiate Academy (ICA), TAIWAN
North Jakarta Intercultural School (NJIS), INDONESIA
Taejon Christian International School (TCIS), KOREA
VERSO International School, THAILAND
After numerous meetings and discussions, the executive board, made up of single administration representation from each of the founding member schools (Heads, Directors, and Executive Principals), created the name East Asia Pacific International Schools Association (EAPISA) and developed the Vision and Goals for the association.
Vision:
East Asia Pacific International Schools Association (EAPISA) aims to provide athletic, creative, and cultural opportunities that leverage the unique advantages offered by small international schools in the East Asia-Pacific region. By fostering collaboration, cooperation, and discussion among member schools, EAPISA extends small schools’ opportunities to meet the evolving interests and talents of our students, within a vibrant and diverse international community.
Goals of EAPISA:
Promote Global Mindedness through the exchange of sports, leadership, service, cultural and academic endeavors among member schools
Encourage the development of integrity, self-control, and fair play
Foster teamwork skills and enthusiastic participation
Empower students to become compassionate, collaborative and socially responsible global citizens
At EAPISA, we value all students as unique individuals, and we welcome the variety of experiences they bring to our organization. As such, we have a strict non-discrimination policy. We believe everyone should be treated equally regardless of race, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, national origin, native language, religion, age, disability, citizenship, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Realizing the necessity to harness the initial excitement and momentum, the board determined it would be best to build policy/procedures and simultaneously create opportunities for students to engage in exchanges commencing in the 2024-25 academic year. For the upcoming year, we are thrilled that the following schools will be hosting events at their respective schools:
International School of Western Australia, Australia
American School in Taichung, Taiwan
Taejon Christian International School, South Korea
Branksome Hall Asia, South Korea
Canggu Community School, Indonesia
North Jakarta Intercultural School, Indonesia
Avenues Shenzen, China
As an inclusive association aspiring to serve many schools with smaller student populations in the EARCOS region, we invite international schools to apply to join us. There currently is no membership fee to join EAPISA. If interested, please contact me at: cbrown@ast.tc.edu.tw