# Saigon South International School

Saigon South International School (SSIS) is an international school in Ho Chi Minh City offering a degree program based on US standards for the EC-12 years. It offers both the IB diploma program and AP coursework and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The school is also a member of East Asian Council of Overseas Schools, National Association of Independent Schools, the Southeast Asia Student Activities Conference (SEASAC), and Mekong River International Schools Association (MRISA).
It is located in Phu My Hung, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

## Profile

Saigon South International School was founded in 1997 by the Phu My Hung Corporation to accommodate an increasing demand for American education by both residents and expatriate families. SSIS is located in the Phu My Hung Urban Area, two and a half miles south of the current city center - District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. SSIS is owned by the Phu My Hung Corporation but operates as a non-profit entity. A three-member school board governs the school in consultation with the Phu My Hung Corporation.
SSIS enrolls over 1,300 students from over 39 countries. Most teachers come from North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Over 80% hold advanced educational degrees, and more than 65% have more than 12 years of teaching experience. SSIS offers an American standards-based curriculum, augmented by the Advanced Placement (AP) Program and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), in high school. SSIS students also have one of the highest average IBDP points in Ho Chi Minh City, and average roughly 5 points higher than the worldwide average.

## Facilities

Saigon South International School has a 6-hectare (15-acre) campus with three main buildings that contain over 1,000 students in Early Childhood 3 (EC3) – Grade 12. The newer purpose-built high school building was completed in January 2011 and includes general classrooms, purpose-built science labs, a library, a gymnasium, changing/locker rooms, and a kiosk.
The other two school buildings contain two libraries for elementary and middle school, an auditorium, a double-sized gymnasium for two basketball courts, a swimming pool, and a shared cafeteria. The outside playing fields have three soccer fields and separate play areas for the early childhood program and elementary students.
In 2023, SSIS started to build a new purpose-built middle school and high school STEAM design center. These are set to finish construction in late March and open in April 2024. The two new buildings officially opened on May 9th, 2024.

## Extracurricular activities

SSIS offers extracurricular activities, referred to as ASA (After School Activities) within the school.
* Student Council
* Service Council
* National Honor Society
* Athletics, badminton, basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and swimming, where the students compete against other schools in the Mekong River International Schools Association (MRISA Sports Exchange), Saigon International Schools Athletics Competition, and South East Asia Student Activities Conference (SEASAC).
* Visual Arts, with projects for fundraising events, and an exhibition at the end of the school year, and taking part in the MRISA Arts Exchange for middle and high school students
* Music, with two performances per school year for Elementary, and taking part in the MRISA Arts Exchange for middle school and high school students
* Animal Rights
* Model United Nations
* Dragon Tales
* SSIS DECA (a Vietnam DECA chapter)
* ISSC (International School Science Competition)
* Mr. William's Chemistry Horror
* VEX Robotics
* Girls Who Code
* Bliss4Youth
* Grass Roots
* Ben Tre Construction
* Love is Love
* Dragon Broadcast Club
* Fundraising initiatives
* Operation Smile Club
* HeartSaysFreeMove Club
* Global Issues Group
* Minecraft
* Many other activities such as ballet, softball, art club, computer club, cooking, crafts, math games, board games, digital animation, newspaper, origami, sewing, chess, piano, martial arts, and writing, are offered by the staff and community members.