High School

The ICS High School: a College Preparatory Program

If you are new to ICS or are thinking of enrolling your children in the ICS High School, please read my welcome message to new families.

Please read below for further information regarding our high school programs. Many of our teachers have web pages of their own that are linked. There are also many links for curriculum maps and the standards and benchmarks that our teachers use in planning course curricula.

The School Day for Students

ICS classes begin at 8:00 AM, and students are expected to be in their seats, ready for work at that time. Most students arrive at 7:45 or a little earlier, for socializing with friends. Parents are reminded that the road construction problems in the city should be accounted for when planning to arrive at school on time. After three tardies within ten days, students are held in our office until the end of their first block, so as to not interrupt class with their late arrival.

The High School day ends at 3:15, except for Wednesdays when the entire school is released at 2:00 PM. Teachers use Wednesday afternoons for professional dialogue and professional growth.

The ICS Block Schedule

In 2006, ICS teachers and students began using a block schedule for the first time. Students are registered for up to eight classes. However, only four classes meet each day. Four days a week, each class meets for 90 minutes. Teachers are able to plan a variety of lesson activities and strategies to engage students in many ways: much more than lecture and note-taking! Students and teachers all get a good break between their long blocks.

On early-release Wednesdays we have four 65-minute class periods and an Advisory period. In Advisory, each student in the Middle/High School meets with a small group of classmates to achieve some of our affective goals as a school community.

On two days in November and two days in March we will have an early release at noon for Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences.

After School Sports and Activities at ICS

Most ICS middle and high school students will stay on campus for after school activities and sports that begin at 3:30 or 3:45. Middle and high school students who are not in an organized activity are allowed to stay on campus to study or to socialize quietly until 5:30, when most of the activities end, and the library closes.

Students in the ICS middle and high schools will have trouble picking among all the options available for after school! Drama? Two or three productions are scheduled each year for our students to join in. Music? How about Jazz band, or joining an ensemble to play live music for a musical drama production? Sports? Three sports seasons with several offerings in each season, with local competitions for all levels and international travel for our varsity athletes. Clubs? Qualify for the National Honor Society, or join the French Club, the Math Club, the Green Science Club, Student Council or Model UN. Art? Our teachers and parents offer a wide variety of opportunities to create art in many media after school...and often invite local artists, weavers or potters to join us on campus to give students a special Ethiopian art experience. Community Service? Weekly and once-a-year opportunities abound, such as tree planting, orphanage visits, teaching ESL, community fun-run fundraisers, Habitat for Humanity, and more.

Grade Level Trips

Students in the ICS Middle and High School participate in grade level trips throughout the school year. These curriculum-connected trips are subsidized by the school's budget: families are expected to pay a nominal amount. All trips are chaperoned by ICS faculty and accompanied by an experienced nurse or doctor. Two trips include flights with Ethiopian Airlines , and all trips include school-certified transportation (safe, insured drivers, and seat belts for all students). Trips have occasionally been cancelled, postponed or moved to alternate venues, depending on weather or other variables. This year's trips should be:

•  Grade Six: history in Gondar and Bahr Dar, and science at the Nile River.

•  Grade Seven: people groups in the Arba Minch area of southern Ethiopia.

•  Grade Eight: science in Langano and nearby volcanic lakes.

•  Grade Nine: field biology in the Bale Mountains.

•  Grad e Ten: African history in Lalibela and Gondar.

•  Grade Eleven: an introduction to college planning, and details of the IB Program. A second trip for the IB Science "Group IV" Project may be planned as well.

•  Grade Twelve: an on-campus fall retreat to prepare for the college search, and a pre-graduation, "what's next" trip to say goodbye to each other and turn our minds to university.

Summary Information About the Class of 2010

Thirty-six ICS seniors received their ICS High School Diploma on May 29, 2010. Our 36 graduates came from 13 countries. 26 of our 27 seniors who applied were accepted to college: 19 in the USA and others to Canada, the UK and the Netherlands. Students were accepted at Northeastern, Mount Holyoke, the American International University in London, Carleton, Columbia, Maastricht, York, the Hague, Mary Baldwin, Kent, Toronto, George Mason and many other fine colleges and universities. Five of our students are planning a gap year before applying to university. Four other students plan to apply to European, Australian or Canadian universities later. Eleven of our US-bound graduates were offered more than US$390,000 per year in financial aid to US and Canadian universities. The class of 2010 also included twenty full IB Diploma candidates, our highest number ever.

If you are interested in applying to ICS for high school, please download

•  Secondary School Profile (484 KB) for families with children entering grade six or above.
•  High School Course Guide (337 KB) for families with children entering grades 9-12.
•  IB Diploma Course Information (163 KB) for families with children interested in the IB Diploma Program.
•  All families with children in the high school should be familiar with our Secondary Dress Code (76 KB) for 2010-2011.

All these files are in PDF format and can be viewed or printed. Click to download Adobe Reader if required.