Hsinchu American School


Hsinchu American School is private, international school with a largely based American curriculum located in East District, Hsinchu City, Taiwan. It was founded in 2004 by Glory Yeh, a Taiwanese real estate developer. HAS offers instruction in English for students grades 1-12. It is recognized by American Institute in Taiwan and the Taiwan Ministry of Education.

History

The Hsinchu American School began operations in 2005. Originally HAS was on the top floor of a 4 story open-center building shared with Sagor Bilingual School. In 2017 HAS moved to its own building and now operates on its own campus, which includes HAS's own athletic facilities.

Campus



HAS is located in the National Art Park with the following facilities:
HAS currently has enrollment open for grades 1-12. HAS abides by Taiwan Foreign Schools Law, which requires all international schools to only admit students who hold non-Taiwan passports.

Student life

Clubs

Hsinchu American School offers a variety of club activities for all Middle school and High school students. New clubs are formed every year, all that is required is interested and a teacher sponsor. Some of the current HAS clubs include:
Every month the journalism class releases a school-wide newspaper reporting on events occurring within the school, events of interest to the student body, advice articles, funny articles, and comics.

Model United Nations

The MUN team is an after-school club that researches issues and prepares students for participation in a number of MUN conferences in Taiwan and around Asia. The purpose of Model United Nations conferences is to simulate an actual United Nations meeting in a high school academic background. This focus on international events thereby increases student awareness of international issues as well as developing communication, research, collaboration, public speaking, and diplomatic skills. Students on the MUN team research nations and issues, prepare resolutions, write speeches, and sharpen their debate and negotiation skills. MUN is offered to both Middle School and High School students.

Student Activities

Student Activities is a group that plans and organizes many annual events. These activities consist of both on and off campus events. Student Activities welcomes and encourages all grades to participate and express their opinions. Also, Student Activities’ goals are to make students get to know one another better and show their school spirit. Student Activities cooperate with both Community Service and Student Government.

Student Council

Hsinchu American School has two Student Councils: High School Student Council and Middle School Student Council in which both high school and middle school elects their own officers. High School students are eligible for election as President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, while the positions of Student Activities Coordinator and Community Service Coordinator are appointed by the President. Middle School students are eligible for election as President and Grade Representatives. Both High School and Middle School Student Council is a representative assembly composed of delegates elected from each class grade, as well as a faculty advisor. Student Council members brainstorm creative ways to raise funds and increase student interaction and participation in school events. Tasks performed by the Student Council include the management of the Student School Store, the drafting and updating of the Student Council Constitution, overseeing the organizing of holiday celebrations, overseeing the planning of Spirit Week, and the planning of the annual Spring Fair. Student Council meetings are held once a week to discuss and develop upcoming school events.

Sports

World Scholar’s Cup is an annual academic competition that has been adopted as an after-school club at HAS. Teams of three compete in a total of four events. The two team events are debate and quiz-bowl, and the two individual events are a multiple choice test and essay writing. The topics and questions for these events are from six different subjects: science, history, art, psychology, economics, and literature. Each year the World Scholar’s Cup organization releases extended articles on each topic that all participants read and study. Training and preparation begin toward the end of first semester which leads up to a national competition held in May and an international competition held in June.