A Bright Future for AISG

A lot of students may be wondering, what significance does the theatre genuinely have within the school’s functioning? A sincere answer could be simple – nothing, as the school has managed to go through eight years with quite a breeze. However, the addition of the theatre would imply great expansion in our school community’s extra curriculum facilities. Our theater group would have an open area to work in, adding on to our Musical Crew’s performance space, rather than constantly trying to work in Ersha’s campus that requires a 30 minute bus ride. From recent updates on the Daily Bulletin, current plans hope to finish the theatre during the 2016-17 school year.

The theatre’s completion may be groundbreaking news, but it is just a start to a much more grandiose plan to improve the school as a whole. With a recent survey provided by the school’s development office and under the assistance of M Moser Associates, an interior planning firm, students, faculty, and parents of the AISG community have provided their ideal image of an AISG campus. I was given the honor and valuable opportunity to have a conversation with the amazing Director of Development, Ms Zoe Timms.

Questions have been brought up about the purpose of the changes made to the school, and Ms Timms was able to provide the most elementary explanation of the situation for me. The seemingly chaotic events that appear as if the school is going to becoming a completely new school are no other than a remodeling and reform of our current campus so that it can be developed into a more appealing and functional school for both students and teachers. Not only does this seemingly huge shift into a more functional campus indicate a change in the school’s campus structure, but also part of a goal to connect students more in order to give high school students a better experience as a whole. In addition, Ms Timms’ journey to make AISG a better school includes developing the alumni project, in order to reach out to students who have still traces of the Ram’s spirit within themselves. She has seek out for the past graduates of AISG through different medias, including not only the Beacon itself, but also extending to an individual Facebook page to connect with the alumni of the school.

Other than the planning and foundation phase of online communication to bring AISG to possibly a worldwide platform, the latest construction that has taken place will also lead to the major changes occurring beginning from the 2017-18 school year, where current seniors and juniors will not be present for such transition. According to Ms Timms, the school has began working with M Moser Associates, who have consulted our students and faculty in order to create the school, for the school, and by the school. In addition, the school has also organized a town hall meeting, in order to have a greater insight of how the community hopes to shape a more friendly learning environment. By providing opinions and suggestions for an ideal learning space, the AISG community has allowed the consulting company to have a better idea of how to reorganize the current unused space of the school (a large portion of the school space has left intact, such as the many open classrooms in the science department, empty areas within hallways and in between buildings, and also the current green space near the cafe and library). The overall improvement plan, also includes possibility of bringing 3rd to 5th grade students from the Ersha campus has been brought up, in order to resolve the crowding issue in the city-center campus by moving the students to the currently less populated and isolated Science Park Campus. M Moser Associates, despite being in a blueprint planning stage, have intention of transforming the currently deserted corners of the school into fully functioning, educational space by considering all factors that contribute to building a better school.

With the upcoming gala, celebrating the 35th year since the American International School of Guangzhou’s founding, AISG hopes to bring the community, as a whole, together. No matter if alumni, faculty, or currently attending students, the school strives for a brighter future and learning environment for its community. Despite of the hiccups that the school has gone through within the past decade, Ms Timms states that AISG puts students as a priority, in order to improve the school for the better of the students’ education.