Saigon South International School was founded in 1997 by the Phu My Hung Corporation to accommodate an increasing need for American education for both local residents and expatriate families. Located in the Phu My Hung Urban Area, SSIS is two and a half miles south of the current city center - District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. SSIS is owned by the Phu My Hung Corporation but operates as a non-profit entity within the company. A three-member School Board governs the school in consultation with the Phu My Hung Corporation. SSIS enrolls over 1000 students from over thirty-nine countries. The professionally certified and experienced teachers are career educators. Most come from North America, Australia and the United Kingdom and as specialists in their subject area, over 80% hold advanced educational degrees. More than 65% have more than 12 years teaching experience. SSIS offers an American standards-based curriculum, augmented by the rigorous Advanced Placement Program and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, in the high school. SSIS students also have one of the highest average IBDP points in Ho Chi Minh City, and average roughly 5 points higher than the worldwide average. In recent years students graduating from SSIS have continued their university education in leading schools in the United States such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, and the University of California at Berkeley. The students who continued their education outside of the United States studied in prestigious schools such as the University of Hong Kong, King's College London, University of Edinburgh, and Seoul National University.
Mission statement
SSIS is a college preparatory school committed to the intellectual and personal development of each student in preparation for a purposeful life as a global citizen.
Facilities
Saigon South International School was awarded best facilities by MOET. Saigon South International School has a large, 6-hectare campus with three main buildings that will contains around over 1,000 students in Early Childhood 3 – Grade 12. The newer purpose-built high school building was completed in January 2011 and includes general classrooms, purpose built science labs, a library, a gymnasium, changing/locker rooms, and a kiosk. The other two school buildings contain two libraries for elementary and middle, an auditorium, a double-sized gymnasium for 2 basketball courts, a swimming pool and a shared cafeteria. The outside playing fields have 3 football fields, and separate play areas for the early childhood program and elementary students. A "Bring Your Own Macbook" program in grades 4-12, Makerspace and computer science, programming and robotics classes ensure that SSIS students obtain 21st century skills.
Extra curricular activities
SSIS offers a range of programs and activities beyond the classroom. The major clubs and activities are:
Student Council
Service Council
National Honor Society
Athletics: basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton, tennis, and swimming, where the students compete against other schools in the Mekong River International Schools Association , Saigon International Schools Athletics Competition, and South East Asia Student Activities Conference.
Visual Arts, with projects for fundraising events, and an exhibition at the end of the school year, and taking part in the MRISA Arts Exchange for Middle and High School students
Music, with two performances per school year for Elementary, and taking part in the MRISA Arts Exchange for Middle School and High School students
Dance, with two dance teams, and regular performances throughout the school year, also taking parts in MRISA Arts Exchange
Many other such as ballet, badminton, soccer, basketball, art club, swim club, computer club, cooking, crafts, math games, board games, digital animation, newspaper, origami, sewing, chess, piano, martial arts and writing, offered by the staff and community members.
