New private school recruiting overseas
Unisus International School aims to ‘bring the world to our Canadian students in Summerland’
SUMMERLAND — A new dormitory and recruitment of overseas students promises to make Summerland’s new private school truly international.
Unisus International School opened its doors last month with classes for local junior kindergarten to Grade 6 students.
A goal of the world-class education offered at Unisus is to create a global community of young leaders from both Canada and other countries to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
“We will bring the world to our Canadian students in Summerland by welcoming international students,” said Unisus founder and director Cindy Leung.
Construction is now underway on a 100-bed dormitory to house students from around the world and across Canada.
“Completion of this first phase, Tower 1, is anticipated for May 2019 in time for the 2019-2010 academic year. As the school grows, Tower 2 will be constructed,” said Unisus director of student life Rich McLeod.
McLeod’s responsibilities include the school’s facilities and athletic and experiential learning programs.
The new facility will have three storeys and a dining hall where students can socialize and enjoy meals. There will also be accommodation for adult house parents.
The dormitory is designed to meet the needs of the modern students, with spacious rooms and fibre-optic Wi-Fi, relaxation lounges equipped with visual and audio equipment, and a state-ofthe-art security system.
Upon completion of the dormitory, Unisus will be the only international school in Western Canada offering junior kindergarten to Grade 12 programs and weekly full-time boarding.
Recently, Leung and Unisus recruitment manager Anke Jenkins met with representatives of schools in Brazil before Jenkins continued on to Vietnam and China. Unisus also has staff in Africa recruiting outstanding students from Kenya.
“We are excited about the connections we made with the Brazilian schools,” Leung said upon returning to Canada.
These connections include bringing students from Grade 8 through Grade 10 to Summerland beginning in September 2019 and becoming partner schools.
The partnerships will involve the exchange of teachers and class projects on which students work together.
An example is the project on Indigenous languages — the 2019 theme of the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network — in which students will learn about the Indigenous languages in their own country and other countries.
“The innovative technology at Unisus makes this project possible and brings the world a lot closer to our students. The classroom becomes so much more than four walls,” Leung said.