International School of the Sacred Heart Review

Education

The all-English curriculum at Sacred Heart brings together a mixture of different educational philosophies. Fundamentally following the standard US progression, the curriculum builds to AP classes and exams as the focal point for the last two years. However, curricula from other English-speaking countries worldwide, as well as elements of the IB system are also incorporated with ToK, or Theory of Knowledge, being a required class for graduation.

Sacred Heart’s coeducational kindergarten offers a play-based curriculum for children between ages 3 and 5. Students build foundational skills in numeracy and English literacy, and have time each day to play together in the multiage Open Area with children from other classes. Students in the all-girls Junior School take English language arts and mathematics, and all students in Kindergarten and Junior School learn social studies and science through the International Primary Curriculum, which centers learning around a themed unit with a heavy focus on interdisciplinary and real-world learning. All students learn Japanese from K3 through Grade 2, and then starting from Grade 3, they can select Japanese or French for their second language. They take art, music, physical education, and have a lesson in the library weekly with specialist teachers. 

Middle School students at ISSH take English, mathematics, social studies, science, and foreign language as their core subjects. Each student also takes both 2D and 3D art, drama, and music, as well as PE and food technology. Students in both middle and high school have the opportunity to take Options courses, a program which allows students to take elective courses in subject areas they might not normally have access to, or that allow them to further develop an area of interest. Some examples of Options courses include musical theater, photography, filmmaking, robotics, AI foundations, programming in Java, and journalism.

In the High School, ISSH offers 22 AP courses, which is comparable to schools with a much larger student body. It is well-covered across STEM, offering AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB and BC, and AP Statistics. All three AP visual art courses are offered, as is AP Music Theory. The school offers both AP English courses, AP Japanese, and AP French, and a range of social studies and history courses including both AP Micro and Macroeconomics, AP World History, and AP European History. When a student wishes to study for an AP exam not offered as a part of Sacred Heart’s course listings, they are able to take it as an independent study. Sacred Heart offers both AP Research and AP Seminar as a part of the AP Capstone Diploma program. 

In order to ensure students are able to schedule the AP courses that best fit their goals and university aspirations, each ISSH student receives individualized counseling to ensure student success. They first attend a session in Grade 10 about Grade 11 and 12 course choices with HS leadership and the college counselor, and then, following the session, are given the opportunity to take part in course selection consultations with current Seniors, who are able to give first-hand advice regarding the scheduling process, as well as current AP faculty. Like many smaller schools, Sacred Heart offers each course a limited number of periods per semester, so the school ensures that students are prepared and informed to make the course selection choices best suited to their needs. A small handful of AP courses at ISSH require a prerequisite course and therefore must be taken in senior year, but all others can be taken prior to Grade 12. For enrollments into Grades 10 and 11, HS leadership consults with the family during the admissions process to ensure a good fit.