KUCHING — St Joseph’s International School Kuching (SJIS) will commence operation on 3 January 2017 offering classes for Year 7 and Year 8 (equivalent to Form 1 and 2 respectively). The school is open to both foreign and Malaysian students. It will be located at the former SK St Theresa, Padungan (beside St Peter’s Church). The school offers the British Cambridge syllabus leading to the Cambridge O and A level examinations.
SJIS will be managed by the Marist Brothers and will be assisted by a team of trained and experienced teachers. The class size will be limited to 25 students per class. The medium of instruction will be in English. Malaysian students will be required to study Bahasa Melayu, Moral Studies/Islamic Studies and Malaysian History. Classes for Bahasa Melayu will be taught in Malay while the other two subjects will be conducted in English and Malay. To ensure the students receive a holistic education, the school will also focus on developing the soft skills of its students by offering subjects in creative arts (such as music, drama and dance), and nurturing them in interpersonal and leadership skills.
The school will be a single session co-ed school with lessons from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm to be followed by extra-curricular activities.
The Board of St Joseph’s Private School Management Bhd, which also governs St Joseph’s Private School Kuching, is undertaking to redevelop the facilities of the former SK St Theresa. This will see the existing two classroom blocks being renovated and the construction of two new 4-storey buildings and a toilet block (see prospective drawing). The redevelopment timeline is estimated as follows:
| Phase | Facilities to be constructed | Facilities | Estimated completion date |
| Phase 1(a) | Renovation of 2 existing classroom blocks | 6 classrooms together with an admin office and a temporary dining facility | October 2016 |
| Phase 1(b) | Construction of two 4-storey building and toilet blocks |
|
October 2017 |
| Phase 2 | Construction of one 4-storey block |
|
Date to be decided |
When completed, the school will have around 30 classrooms, nine multi-purpose rooms to accommodate laboratories for sciences and technology, music room, art room, etc. It will have its own basketball court cum multi-purpose area. Kuching City South has given permission for the school to use its recreation facilities (running track, football field and recreational areas) which is located just across the road (Jalan William Tan) from the school. The Council also allows the school to access the Kuching Municipal Swimming Pool.
Interested applicants can contact St Joseph’s Private School’s office at Jalan Nagor, 93400 Kuching (Tel 082-414575 / 420575) during office hours (8.00 am – 12.00 pm and 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm) on weekdays or email stjosephprivate@gmail.com.
Today’s Catholic Vol.27 No.12 March 2016
