FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About Berkeley Campus:
1.) How big is Berkeley International School? What are the space sizes for the library, canteen, swimming pool, classrooms and other amenities?
Berkeley is quite centrally located at 123 Bangna-Trad Road KM.1. The campus sits on a 30 rais track of land. Berkeley currently has 19,803.18 square meters of buildings and functional spaces residing on 12 rais of land, allowing adequate space for future expansion. The current utilization of space provides a great balance for an environment conducive to learning and amenities for recreation. Located within three very large building structures of the Phase I Building Program are 45 spacious classrooms, an enormous canteen and library, numerous offices, and sports facilities maybe found.
2.) Who designed the school? What is the architect’s inspiration?
Berkeley was designed by Atelier of Architects, a well-known architectural company. The leading architect is Mr. Salyawate Prasertwitayakarn. The inspiration for the buildings came from silhouettes of baroque castles seen in France and Switzerland.
3.) When will Phase 2 development commence? When will it be completed?
We look forward to the completion of phase 2 by 2014 and also the addition of various new facilities to promote student’s development and outcomes. In August 2012 Phase 2 will commence and should be completed within the next 2 years.
4.) How many computers are available for students? How many sports are being offered at Berkeley?
Berkeley maintains a 1:1 ratio in computer lessons. There are 2 computer labs at Berkeley one for Kindergarten and one for Elementary School. Each computer lab is equipped with 20 desktop computers, overall Berkeley has a ratio of 3 students to 1 computer.
Berkeley offers various sport activities including swimming, American Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Badminton, Rugby, Softball, Floor Hockey, Bocce Ball, and Croquet.
5.) How many books are there in the library? How many categories? Where are the sources that books come from?
Within the first 2 years of operation, Berkeley has developed an extensive collection of books in our libraries. There are now over 5,000 books in our school. Berkeley is currently using the electronic library (E-Library) and encourages our students to engage in a virtual learning environment along with using library.
As of now, the main library hosts 4,200books. The kindergarten library hosts 511books. There are 722 academic books, 71 volumes of periodicals, 22 items for A/V Resources, 1,252 Textbooks, and 37 items of E-books.
The categories of books in the library include:
Fiction (EF, JB, YA, AF)
Non-Fiction Collection
Biography Collection
Parent’s Collection
Reference Collection
Thai Collection
Teacher’s Reference
Talking Books Collection
The categories of classroom books include:
Leveled Books
Guided Reading Books
A/V Resources consist of
CD
DVD
Audio CD
The categories of textbooks include:
Teacher/student copies
Additional supplements to the textbook
Class readers
Admissions:
6.) What are the criteria and procedures in admitting students? What are the criteria in recruiting teachers?
Each student seeking admittance to Berkeley will be assessed prior to enrollment by means of an oral interview by the Headmaster, and by achieving a passing score on an English reading and writing exam.
Berkeley teachers are qualified, certified, and experienced professional educators from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Teachers are hired by our seasoned Headmaster, predominately through teacher recruitment fairs in the United States. Minimum requirements include: Candidates must be native English speakers, hold a bachelor’s degree in education, hold a valid teaching certificate, have at least 2 years experience, submit 3 letters of recommendation, and are able to obtain a Thai Teacher’s License.
7.) Can students be admitted in the middle of academic semester?
Yes, Berkeley is always open for enrollment on a year around basis. Students must pass both the oral interview and the written exam prior to acceptance.
8.) What is the student & teacher ratio at Berkeley?
The current teacher to student ration at Berkeley is about 1-6 if you include all specialist teachers.
9.) How many teachers do Berkeley have? Where do the teachers come from? How many TAs? How many nannies?
There are about 20 teachers at Berkeley. Our teachers mainly come from the U.S.A., UK, and Canada. We have teachers with PhD’s, Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees. We have 6 teaching assistants, and 3 nannies who are of Thai nationality. Most of our Teacher Assistants and nannies have a bachelor’s degree also.
General Questions:
10.) How many styles of uniforms do Berkeley have?
There are three styles of uniforms, one for Pre-K through K-3, one for grades 1-5, and one for grades 6 &7. In addition Berkeley students have 2 styles of PE uniform for Pre-K to Grade 5 and Grade 6-7.
11.) What food service provider does Berkeley use? What company? What are the standards in choosing the company? What are the standards that the food providers must abide to in providing food for our students?
Berkeley has engaged the Epicure Food and Catering Company in a 5 year contract to provide healthy quality food and services for our students. Epicure is a very well known and reputable food service provider amongst the leading international schools here in Thailand. Epicure has a high standard and much knowledge and experience with food preparation, serving and hygiene, guaranteeing Berkeley students will receive nutritional meals while at school. The menu, supplied daily, caters to both local Thai favorite dishes, and a nutritious international cuisine of lunches and snacks including a fresh fruit and salad bar daily.
12.) Does Berkeley have any project or school activities that promote cultural differences/immersion?
Berkeley currently has students with passports representing 19 different nationalities. By definition we are promoting cultural immersion every day at school. Of course we have specific projects for example each year Berkeley hosts an International Day which is an activity that promotes cultural differences in our community. Students and adults in our Berkeley community are given the opportunity to learn about each other cultures and to share aspects of their culture with peers. Our students, teachers and parents usually come to school in their national costume and provide a dish of food representing their home country.
In addition, Berkeley has a strong Thai Language and Culture curriculum that is conducted both inside and outside the classroom with a variety of activities. The curriculum provides all our students opportunities to immerse themselves in Thai cultural activities such as Teacher’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Songkran Celebrations, Loy Kratong Festival, and religious days. It is the intention that all our students recognize and are proud of the Thai Values. To be more explicit, so there is no doubt as to our commitment to these values they are spelled out in all of our literature promoting our school.
13.) Who are Berkeley students? What are their backgrounds?
We are very proud of our student composition to promote a truly international learning experience. At Berkeley, our student body is comprised of 50% Thai Nationals, and 50% from expatriate families. These foreigners represent 19 different nationality groups. We are fortunate to have students predominately from professional families.
14.) What is unique about Berkeley that differ us from other international schools?
Berkeley is proud of our individual attention to all students due to our small class size of approximately 1 teacher to every 10 students. We are proud of our teachers who are well qualified and passionate about teaching. Our curriculum is American based and with our stamp of approval from our impending accreditation with WASC, it offers opportunities for greater advancement to higher institutes of learning both in America and internationally. Our school location is superb, and our nurturing and safe school environment is very appealing.
15.) Does Berkeley have a plan or project to attract/recruit students from Asia region or other countries?
At this moment we are committed to preserving our student ration of 50% Thai and 50% International students.
16.) What is Berkeley’s long term plan?
Berkeley will aspire to be one of the leading International Schools in Thailand. Within the next 5-10 years Berkeley will become an accredited school by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. We plan to become one of the top 5 leading international schools in Thailand that provides a top notch, well rounded education, with emphasis on small classes sizes, a very strong engagement with information technology necessary for a 21st century learning environment, and an excellent sports, recreational and fine arts program.
17.) What are some of the extracurricular activities that Berkeley students get to participate outside of classroom/school? What are some of the festive activities and festivals?
Of Course, extracurricular activities are always part of our program. Berkeley frequently arranged field trips for our students to complement their learning in classrooms. We host a few events throughout the year both academic and non academic activities i.e. Campaign Day, Science Week, Anti-bullying week. Berkeley also takes great pride in celebrating national holidays such as Loy Kratong, Songkran, and Teacher’s Appreciation day.
18.) Berkeley has often participated in some donation drive in the past, what are some of the donation activities that Berkeley did and how is the feedback?
During the past 2 years Berkeley students have been active Global Citizens in our local community and have supported many community services with events such as donation drives for flood and tsunami victims, and supplies for baby orphanages. The giving culture has been well received by the Berkeley community and we have received great support from our own parents. We are quite proud of this and plan for these initiatives to be a part of our school tradition.