FAQs

The school day runs from 8:30am to 3:30pm, with half day options for our nursery and pre-kindergarten students. 

• The timetable for Lakeside Primary can be viewed here

• The timetable for Lakeside Secondary can be viewed here

• The timetable for Tanjong Katong can be viewed here

Dates for the 2019/2020 school year are listed below. The printable calendar with key dates can be viewed here.

There are approximately 3,000 students across both the Lakeside (LKS) and Tanjong Katong (TK) campuses.

Our student body comes from over 80 nations, and we have no one dominant nationality. We are a school that truly celebrates their internationalism.

There is high demand for places at the Canadian International School and waitlists do exist for a number of year groups. For information on the availability of places, please contact our Admissions Executives for further information. It is advisable to apply for a place as early as possible.

The Canadian International School is an International Baccalaureate School.

Nursery

Inspired by the IB PYP framework, our curriculum focuses on developing children's foundational social, literacy and numeracy skills, as well as their fine and gross motor skills.

Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 10

Reflecting our international context, our curriculum draws from the best curricula globally and is delivered within the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and IB Middle Years (MYP) framework.

Grades 11 and 12

The Diploma Programme follows a curriculum set by the IB. This ensures that students globally are studying the same course material and are prepared for examinations at the end of Grade 12.

One of the benefits of an IB education is the portability that it brings for our globally mobile community. We have found that our students are able to seamlessly transition to both other IB schools, and back to their national curriculum.

Approximately 50% of our teachers are Canadian. They are joined by colleagues from other countries as well (for example: Australia, the UK, Europe, New Zealand and USA).

Yes, all the teachers at CIS are formally qualified, and have prior teaching experience. Individual profiles of our teachers can be viewed in the staff directory.

CIS English language proficiency requirements vary depending on a student’s grade. A detailed overview of the requirements can be found in the Entry requirements section on this website.

The Canadian International School offers an extensive language programme, meeting a wide range of needs and interests. Our Global Language Programme page outlines what is offered across the grades. CIS also offers an 'After School Language Programme', offering support in both mother tongue maintenance, and language acquisition.

Students in Grades 4 to 6 must have an iPad, while students in Grades 7 through 12 must have their own MacBook computer at school every day. Students bring their device to school each day, and take it home in the evening. Visit our Digital Literacy page to learn more about our "One to World Programme".

Yes, we provide an independent, local school bus operator (Yeap Transport) to provide door-to-door bus transportation for our students. Full details can be found on this page of our website.

Yes, we have a school uniform that all students wear. Details can be found on this page of our website.

Sodexo is the school caterer and we have canteens at both campuses. Lunch and snacks are included in the school fees for all Kindergarten students, while students in Grades 1 to 12 can purchase lunch and/or snacks from the canteen, or may bring a packed lunch from home.

This document provides more detailed information regarding the canteen.

Most materials for classes are supplied by CIS. There will be some incidental costs that parents incur with equipment needed for class. Please visit the fees section our our website for further details regarding miscellaneous fees.

Students are expected to attend school at all times unless excused by their parents or caregivers appointed by their parents. The minimum attendance requirement for all students is 90%. Please refer to our Attendance Policy for further details (this policy can also be found in clause 7.8 of the parent handbook).

Yes. All parents and legal guardians with students enrolled at CIS are automatically members of the PTA. There is a PTA at each of our campuses - Lakeside and Tanjong Katong.

All courses/grades are yearlong ‘courses’ and follow an academic year which begins in August and ends in June. Our calendar provides details on Semester start dates and scheduled holidays for the respective school year.

CIS is an international school that offers programmes for students from 2 to approximately 18 years of age. "Courses" at CIS are commonly referred to as grades. Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten are offered as half day (3 hour) or full day programmes. All other grades are offered on a full time basis and students attend school 5 days per week (Monday to Friday).

Details including the minimum entry requirements for each grade level, a brief course (grade) write up, and the details of the relevant awarding and/or governing body/bodies can be found in the course write ups below.

There are expected attendance periods in order for formal report cards to be issued. The following date guidelines on report cards and summative letters for students joining CIS midway through the semester or leaving early are:

Primary School (Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6)

Semester one

Late arrivals:

• Students who arrive before October break will receive an end of Semester 1 report.
• Students who arrive at CIS between October break and 3rd week in November will receive a summative letter.

Early departures:

• Students who depart from CIS prior to the October break, will not receive a Semester 1 report.
• Students who have attended through the semester, but leave CIS between the 4th week of October and December break, will receive a written report. This report card will be mailed to the student’s new residential address when the other students receive their report cards.

Semester two

Late arrivals:

• Students who join CIS prior to the March break will receive a Semester 2 report card.
• Students who join CIS between first of April and end of first week of May will receive a summative letter.
• Students who arrive on or after the 2nd week of May will not receive a report card or summative letter.

Early departures:

• Students departing CIS prior to the end of February, will not receive a Semester 2 report card.
• Students who have been enrolled for semester 2, but depart between the beginning of March and end of school year will receive a written report card. This report card will be mailed to the student’s new residential address after the last day of school in June.

Secondary School (Grades 7 to 10)

Secondary students will not receive a progress or semester report card under the following conditions:

• Students enter CIS 3 weeks (or more) after the reporting period has commenced.
• Students leave CIS 3 weeks (or earlier) before the end the reporting period.

Full details regarding tuition (course /grade level) fees and our refund policy can be found on this page.

Yes, we are an Approved Institution under the Baby Bonus Scheme.

Parents of Singaporean children who have a Child Development Account (CDA), can now use funds from that account to pay their child(ren)’s Kindergarten tuition fees. Parents may also use funds from a sibling’s CDA account to pay Kindergarten tuition fees.

How do I make payment?

Tuition payments from your child’s CDA can only be made via GIRO or NETS. For payment by GIRO you must obtain a CDA Interbank GIRO application from your bank and bring it to the Finance counter in the Main Office. If you wish to pay by NETS, you will have to obtain a Baby Bonus NETS Card from your bank and pay at Finance counter in the Main Office.

What information do I have to provide to CIS?

The MSF requires Approved Institutions to collect certain information and documentation when tuition fee payments are made via CDA. A list of the information we require from you can be found here.

Where can I learn more about the Baby Bonus scheme?

More information about the Baby Bonus scheme can be found on the MFS Baby Bonus website.

If you have any questions concerning CIS’s procedures for collecting tuition fee payments via CDA, please email our Finance Department.

The staff:student ratio at CIS is 1:11.5, and all classes are staffed to ensure an optimal learning environment. As in all international school settings, the number of students in a class will fluctuate throughout the academic year - in line with demand and peak periods for admission and withdrawal.

In the kindergarten years, teachers are supported by two full-time instructional assistants in nursery and one full-time instructional assistant in pre-kindergarten, junior and senior kindergarten, allowing teachers to focus on each child’s emotional and social well-being.

Our bilingual classes (junior kindergarten to grade 6) have two teachers per class. Students will learn in Chinese one day, and in English the next. In addition to the teacher, each class is supported by an instructional assistant.

CIS has appointed both local and overseas recruitment agents to assist parents with school applications. Agents are appointed/reviewed annually, and monitored on an ongoing basis. If you are an agent and are interested in learning more, please contact admissions@cis.edu.sg.

A list of the agents currently appointed by CIS can be viewed on this page.