Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)

To ensure your child develop the four C skills: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication, Sampoerna Academy adopts:

o Montessori like approach for Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten levels
o Cambridge curriculum for Elementary to Secondary levels
o First Language English teaching
o Project Based Learning (PBL) and STEAM approach from America
o IB DP school

Sampoerna Academy – Jakarta Campus is an authorized school for the Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy- a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education- that we believe is important for our students.
* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP).

It is not only what we teach it is also how we teach makes the difference. We believe that better-rounded student with experience in various activities and better social skills is the way to go. With the advent of the information age available at our finger-tips, our job as a school is to teach our students “to learn how to learn”. Concepts are taught as deeper knowledge rather than rote memorization.

Your child will learn using the 21st century skills through:
o Inquiry-based learning
o Problem-based learning
o Project-based learning,
o STEAM appraoch
o Personalized learning

To facilitate hands-on activities, our teachers will embrace the new technology, such as:
o iPad
o Chromebook
o MacBook Pro
o MakeyMakey
o Sphero
o LittleBits
o LEGO Mindstorms
o Arduino

Yes. Sampoerna Academy is an international school, that combines national curriculum and international programs. We are SPK school in legal terms which uses International Curriculum aligned with National Standards.

As explained throughout this document student achievement is priority for SA. Our teachers work on deeper learning with students in the classrooms. Some of our teaching methods or approaches explained in this document. Moreover, we use various assessments to measure students’ understanding. If any child is falling behind teachers may implement some interventions, including but not limited to classroom group works, tutorial during the day or after classes, peer tutoring, … it is also important for parents to be involved in their children’s education. Teachers have open communication with students in person or online portals they are using. Therefore, these extra support requests may come from students and/or parents as well.

On the other hand, our administrators are in constant communication with teachers. Homeroom teachers (mentors) are also following students learning in all their subject areas.

It is for sure parents will think what about exams – IGCSE, UN, or other high-stake exams. Even though, we will not teach for testing, we do want our students to be successful in those exams. Students need only simple revisions and practice before the exams since they have already mastered the content through the lessons. SA implements mock exams, condensed study during their last month for the exams, past papers solutions, etc.

SA employs counsellors to help students in their college choices and support them for their psychological well beings. Our counsellors working with the class mentors provide guidelines for students in choosing their career pathways. Parents play important role in these decisions as well.

In addition to our school counsellor, Sampoerna School System have Student Parent Advisory Center (SPAC). The advisors in this center help parents and students to understand their options at University and choose their pathways accordingly. Parents are welcome to visit or schedule meeting with our SPAC anytime.

Pre-Schools:

Pre-Kindergarten: 3 years old by 1 October

Kindergarten 1: 4 years old by 1 October

Kindergarten 2: 5 years old by 1 October

Elementary School 1: 6 years old by 1 October

Admission into other grades will depend on Entrance Test results and previous report cards.

Students in Grade 7-8 have their regular Middle school subjects designed to prepare them for the rigor of IGCSE courses. These include but not limited to English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Bindo, Art, Music, PE, Mandarin.

Grade 9 and 10 are offered IGCSE subjects. They will have about five subjects per year and required to sit at least six exams in two years. The High School pathways will be shared with parents in 3rd quarter of AY 17-18. Possible subjects are explained below.

Grade 9: English Language, Extended Maths, Biology, Bahasa Indonesia, and Global Perspectives are the courses offered. Due to heavy portfolio assignment of Global Perspectives, our teachers are looking for an option to extend the subject into two years. They may finish their content during Grade 9 but will finalize their portfolio during Grade 10. This will be determined by looking the progress of students in February 2018.

Grade 10: English literature and Additional Maths is strongly encouraged (almost required) for all students if they want to continue one of the IB DP, A-Levels, or AC programs. Additional three more choices will be offered to students. The following courses are some of the possible offerings. For our existing cohorts in Jakarta we are planning to open each subject with at least 4 students. Possible subjects, in addition to Literature and Additional Maths, are Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Business Studies, Mandarin, ICT, Accounting, Geography, and History.

As mentioned above, current grade 9 students will be given these choices during 3rd quarter of the AY.

The IB Diploma is for students aged 16-18 and requires no specific preparatory classwork, so can be undertaken directly from IGCSEs. It offers a broad curriculum made up of six subject groups – students usually study three at a higher level and three at a standard level.

The main aim of the DP Core is to broaden students’ education experiences and challenge their application of knowledge and skills. The Theory of Knowledge asks students to reflect on the nature of knowledge; Community, Action, Service (CAS) requires students to take part in a range of activities and projects such as music, sports or fundraising; while the Extended Essay is an independent piece of research, culminating in a university-level 4,000-word paper.

IB DP graduates have won places at a wide range of universities and colleges around the world. Every university in the UK now accepts the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and students regularly enter the top-tier institutions including Imperial, UCL, LSE, as well as many within the Russell Group. In the US and Canada, the IBDP and Course Certificates (Higher Level) are increasingly recognized, with many universities conferring credit or advanced placement of up to one year for them.

A-levels (short for Advanced levels) are UK national curriculum school-leaving qualifications that are taken by many students in the UK. Students usually choose three or four subjects, and take two years to study for these A-levels between the ages of 16 and 18.

The following links have great comparison for IB DP and A-Levels, especially the first one is based on a research:

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/news/international-baccalaureate-versus-a-levels#survey-answer

https://www.stclares.ac.uk/blog/international-baccalaureate/ib-v-level/

Sampoerna Academy Jakarta is planning to offer only IB DP program for its students – no A Levels- just because of the same reasons spelled out in the above articles.

American College program is a bit different from previous two.

Starting from Grade 11, students who meets upon admission requirements may enter our American College Program where they can experience an education equivalent to the first two years of an American university. The program may lead to an American Bachelor’s Degree, up to two years earlier than the conventional pathway. Students earn SACS accredited American College credits through our US partners during their high school years. These credits are transferable to American universities according to each Universities criteria. Some can be accepted by other universities in other countries as well.

The main difference of AC from the other two is that students have to pass an exam at the end of the course for IB and A Levels while in AC they earn the college credit as soon as they complete the course satisfactorily.

Sampoerna Academy graduates are well equipped to go any university in any country – USA, UK, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Europe.

IB DP and A-Levels are advanced level courses designed to prepare students tertiary education. Most universities around the world accepts their credibility and even gives college credits to those courses according to exam results of the courses. Our teachers deliver these course contents and prepare students for the challenging exams. It is important to note that students exposed to these rigorous courses are more prepared to university than their peers are, even if they do not score high on the exams. The foundation for these two programs are the IGCSE courses offered in grade 9 and 10. Students completing their courses satisfactorily may be successful in IB DP or A-Level courses.

American College (AC) program offers college credit bearing courses for the qualified students while they are in high school. As the name states, it is geared more towards US universities, even though its credits may be accepted by universities in other countries. By attending this program, students may finish their university two years earlier than their peers can. AC allows them to take up to 60 college credits. Students should meet the high school equivalency and College Readiness requirements to be eligible for this program.

On the other hand, students attending any of the programs above are also eligible to finish receive their SMA diploma after attending the national UN exams. Sampoerna Academy is an SPK school according to Indonesian Ministry of Education regulations and can issue Indonesian diploma. Students from other countries are not required to complete National required exams.

Sampoerna School System has many MOUs signed with great universities, most of which are American Universities. Those universities offer different advantages. The most important and relevant one is to transfer credits with AC program. Some of those universities are offering scholarship or tuition discounts at various levels as well. Our SPAC team is able to help any interested parents.