Raffles American School: Here We Grow Again!
Raffles American School Malaysia (RAS) has grown from a start up school with an enrollment of four students in August 2012 to a WASC accredited school with an enrollment of 120 students in just two and a half short years! The entire faculty and staff of RAS takes great pride in the learning environment which has been created through dedication and partnership between parents, students, faculty and staff. News and Views – Inside Schools in Malaysia, published by ITS Education Asia writes, “ During our school visit, you could see the process of Problem Solving and Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Research and Organization Skills, and Interpersonal Skills unfolding, no matter what class we observed. Every classroom exuded the expertise of the teaching staff, from the carefully planned layout, to the engaging display boards, to the varied and exciting lessons we saw in progress.”
Raffles Education Corporation (REC) of Singapore has developed the RAS Brand through collaboration with International School Services (ISS). ISS has been instrumental in providing both human and curricular resources which have culminated in a truly American school, in Malaysia. REC planted the seeds for the birth of RAS in 2011 with the hiring of a New York Architectural Firm, SOM. SOM developed an inspirational educational plan which won second prize at the Architectural Festival in 2012 for Best New Educational Design. The 46-acre campus plan incorporates the slope of the land from hill to wetland through the construction of 19 terraced levels and flowing roof lines which channel water toward the wetlands. Students enter the top of the campus as four year olds and graduate from the Performing Arts Center at the south end of the campus. Secondly, the classrooms are nestled in the middle of the 46 acres with the indoor supporting facilities surrounding and the outdoor supporting facilities forming the outer ring. An undeveloped six-acre wooded hill will serve as outdoor education space.
Construction has begun in earnest and the first phase of the campus will be ready for occupancy in January 2016 with full completion scheduled for August 2016. RAS will boast a 30 seat planetarium, 700 seat theater, Gymnasium Complex, 25-meter and 50-meter swimming pools, tennis courts, baseball diamond, soccer pitches, stadium track, boarding facility and state-of-the-art science laboratories and classroom spaces. As REC and administration focus carefully on the construction plans and specifications for completion of the purpose-built campus, RAS continues to enjoy and celebrate the fantastic learning environment which exists in its small, slightly crowded, temporary campus. As one of the RAS 2nd grade students wrote in a cinquain poem:
"Raffles American School busy, kids kids are learning smart and happy kids School"