Exclusive school shows what it has to offer

JAKARTA (JP): Sekolah Tiara Bangsa, an exclusive school for both national and international students in Cibubur, southeast of the capital, held a one-day introductory open house on Saturday.

About 100 parents attended the event, intended to allow visitors a closer look at the school's teaching and learning process and student activities.

Dance and music performances, poetry readings and drama were on the agenda.

Applauded by their parents, students aged from three years to 12 years convincingly performed Indonesian traditional dances from West Sumatra and Bali, Australian Aboriginal dances and a short English play.

With their bodies painted black and yellow, students got into the spirit of the Aboriginal dance.

In another dance accompanied by a recorded English song, students in red and white dresses danced with their teachers and parents.

Students from countries including Indonesia, China, America and India also showed their ability to recite English poems and delivered speeches in both Indonesian and English.

"My school is expensive, but it teaches me how to become an independent student, not to be shy to speak...," one of the students said in her performance.

The show was held at the gymnasium on the second floor of the two-story school building located in Bukit Raflesia housing complex.

Technical advisor Barbara Nichols said the school aimed to educate and shape caring, independent and educated children who would contribute positively to the next century, both here and overseas.

"That's why we apply the Indonesian curriculum, with the addition of the best curricula from around the world," Nichols told The Jakarta Post.

She said teaching was 70 percent in English and 30 percent in Indonesian with the goal of creating bilingual students.

Founded in 1996 by the nonprofit Widya Darma foundation, the school employs 16 local and 10 expatriate teachers, she said.

The foundation is owned by several Indonesian businesspeople, led by chairman of Roda Mas Group Mukitan, who have the same goal of setting up a school to educate students with an international outlook, she said.

To reach the goal, Nichols said, the school was equipped with various facilities, including air-conditioned classrooms, a hall, music rooms, art room, laboratory and Indonesian and English libraries.

School fees are between US$2,500 and $4,500 for the 1999/2000 school year beginning in July, she said.

Payments can also be made in rupiah at a range between Rp 10 million and Rp 15 million for the school year.

Fees depend on the individual programs of play group, kindergarten, elementary school and junior high school.

Nichols said the school's location 200 meters from the Cibubur gate of the Jagorawi toll road was convenient and the area was free of air pollution.

At least 125 students, some of them Jakarta residents, are enrolled, Nichols said. (jun)