Vienna International School

Vienna International School
"The mission of VIS is to empower learners to achieve their potential in a nurturing and diverse environment, giving them the means and confidence to be successful and responsible in an evolving world."
Location
Vienna, Austria
Information
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	None
Established	1959
Director	James Walbran
Faculty	168
Enrollment	1400
Average class size	20
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Blue/White
Athletics conference	ISST & SCIS
Mascot	Panther
Website	www.vis.ac.at

The Vienna International School is a non-profit international school, located in Vienna, Austria. The school was built to accommodate the children of UN employees and diplomats when the UN decided to locate one of its offices in Vienna, and it remains affiliated to the UN. About 80% of students are children of UN employees and receive education grants, while much of the remaining students are children of embassy staff and Austrian nationals. It awards the International Baccalaureate Diploma and/or an Austrian Matura by fulfilling extra requirements.^[1] The school has an enrollment of 1400 students, from pre-primary to twelfth grade.

Facilites

The school is divided into 3 wings. A Primary and Secondary area, an administrative wing and a separate building for Pre-Primary.The school also has an outdoor ecology area. Facilities include:

• 5 gyms
• Theater
• 2 well-stocked libraries
• Numerous computer labs and a wireless network to support work on laptops for Secondary students.

Outside facilities include:

• Artificial turf field
• 2 grass courts
• 1 large paved court
• 300 meters Athletic track
• 3 playgrounds

Modernizations

The school is recently undergoing a refurbishment project, modernizing many parts of the campus. These have included (list not complete):

• Upgrading of 6 science labs with a donation from Borealis, July 2008.
• Preparing an adjacent field to be used for PE lessons, July 2008.
• Upgrading of 2 computer labs, April 2009
• Refurbishing the athletics track, May 2008.

More renovations are planned for summer 2009.

School Day

The school day starts at 8:30 and ends at 14:55 for the Primary school and at 15:15 for the Secondary school. For Grade 11 and 12, some subjects last until 16:00. In the Secondary school, there are 7 periods per day, each 45 minutes long, with 3 minute intervals, a 20 min. break at 10:10 and a 50 min. lunch break from 12:50 - 13:40. The Primary School also has 7 periods a day, with a 1 hour lunch break at 11:40 and a 20 minute break at 10 o'clock.

History

The Vienna International School was originally set up in August 1955 as the Vienna International Community School. Previously, it had been the 'British Army School' in Schönbrunn barracks and catered for the children of the British occupying forces in Vienna. The Austrian State Treaty signed in May 1955 resulted in the occupying forces leaving Austria, so the school transformed into the Vienna International Community School under the patronage of the British, American and Indian Missions.

It opened on the 1st of September 1955 in the 18th district of Vienna. By the end of the year 150 students between the ages of 3 and 15 years attended the school. Soon the building proved too small for the expanding school, which moved into the 19th district. By 1959, 300 children represented 25 different nationalities in VICS. However, most of the children were American or Canadian, so the British and Indian Embassies started a separate British style school in 1959, while the VICS changed into the American International School.

The English School moved into Grinzinger Straße 95, a premises found with the help of the British Ambassador, Sir James Bowker, the legal advisor at the Embassy Walter Rhodes, and Vienna's Deputy Lord Mayor, Hans Mandl. The school quickly expanded and was visited by the British Minister of Education in 1961. The first staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency sent their children to the English School in 1959. The school year 1961-62 saw the introduction of William Kirk as director, who helped raise the quality of education at the school considerably. In 1974, children from families of the UNIDO started sending their children to the school.

Street sign at the entrance to the school

In May 1969, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the school on a state visit to Vienna. Another significant director of the school was Maurice Pezet, until June 1985. In September 1978, the decision was made to change the English School into a specific United Nations school, and the name "Vienna International School" was introduced. The Austrian government and Chancellor Dr Kreisky supported the school, and the idea of a new, especially built premises was established. The new building was created in Kagran, two U-Bahn (underground) stops from the UN, and opened in 1985.^[2]

Graduation requirements and courses

Full-year courses at VIS earn one credit each, while semester courses earn half of a credit. A secondary school student must earn 24 credits to graduate. The following subject areas are being offered as of the 2008-2009 school year.^[3]

Group 1: Language 1

• English A HL&SL
• German A HL&SL

It is also possible to study a privately taught mother tongue as Group 1 language at HL or SL

Group 2: Language 2

• English B and A2 HL&SL
• German B and A2 HL&SL
• German ab initio SL
• French B HL&SL
• Spanish B HL&SL
• Latin

Group 3: Individuals and Society

• Economics HL&SL
• Geography HL&SL
• History HL&SL
• Information technology in a Global Society (ITGS) HL&SL
• Environmental Systems and Society SL (transdisciplinary course)

Group 4: Experimental Sciences

• Biology HL&SL
• Chemistry HL&SL
• Physics HL&SL
• Design Technology HL&SL

Group 5: Mathematics

• Mathematics HL
• Mathematics SL
• Mathematics Studies SL
• Further Mathematics SL
• Computer Science HL&SL

Group 6: The Arts

• Music HL&SL
• Theatre HL&SL
• Visual Arts HL&SL
• Film HL&SL

Rather than taking an arts course, students may opt to take another subject from Groups 1 to 5 as their 6th subject

Camps & Trips

Additionally to one-day excursions starting in Pre-Primary, the school offers yearly whole-grade camps from Grades 2-9 and specialized trips from Grade 10-11.

• Grade 2: Applehof
• Grade 3: Ottenstein
• Grade 4: Klagenfurt
• Grade 5: Radstadt
• Grade 6: Hallstatt
• Grade 7: Wagrain
• Grade 8: Florence
• Grade 9: Murau
• Grade 10: Spanish: Granada, French: Besancon, Humanities: Mauthausen
• Grade 11: Spanish: Barcelona, Music: Munich, Biology: Lunz am See
• Grade 12: Biology: Apetlon, Drama: Cardiff

School magazine

The school magazine is called the "Spotlight". It is published four times yearly, with additional issues for student council elections or other special events.

Famous visits

• 19. May 2009: Jane Goodall
• 15. June 2009: Sr. Lucy Kurien, founder of MAHER

Famous alumni

• Salam Pax^{[citation needed]}
• Tobias Ellwood, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom

Sporting achievements

• The VIS Golf Team is the only VIS team to win the National Schools' Championships.
• The VIS Rugby Team has defended its title as Austrian Rugby Champions for 6 now.
• Over the past ten years, the VIS SV Boys Basketball team has won 6 consecutive championship titles and two second place awards in the International Schools Sports Tournament.
• The VIS JV basketball team has now won the SCIS tournament 2 years in a row.
• The VIS Tennis Team has, after a series of turbulent years, regrouped and started to return to its former strength by winning the third place at 2009 SCIS for the boys.

2009 Achievements

Scouting

Vienna International School is the home of Vienna International Scout Group 88 (German: Wien 88-Internationale Pfadfindergruppe). The Scout group is affiliated to Boy Scouts and Girl Guides of Austria. It is the only English-speaking group within the Austrian Scout association. It was founded in 1980.

References

External links

• Official School Site
• Scouting Group Site

Coordinates: 48°14′41.45″N 16°25′54.74″E / 48.2448472°N 16.4318722°E / 48.2448472; 16.4318722