A New Lasallian International School Opens in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya
St. John Baptist De La Salle’s 300-year-old education mission continues when St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (SJIIM) opened its doors in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya. Established by LAPIS (Lasallian Asian Partnerships for International Schools) in partnership with Tropicana Corporation Berhad and with the blessings of the Brother Visitor and LEAD council, this unique international school nurtures well-rounded learners at all levels with its values-centred education approach that is based on the very best of the globally-recognised Lasallian education ethos.
Although this is its first Malaysian international institution, St Joseph’s is no stranger to the Lasallian education circle in Asia being the brother school of the 160-year-old St Joseph’s Institution (independent all-boys secondary school) and St Joseph’s Institution International School (independent co-educational international school) in Singapore. With this backbone, SJIIM aims to build on its brother schools’ extensive history of educational excellence and initiate in the future, a collaborative learning platform to encourage sharing of knowledge and resources between the institutions.
Registrations for its founding batch of students have been more than encouraging for all levels despite the unprecedented growth of new international schools in the Klang Valley. This clearly shows the Malaysian public’s support and believe in the holistic education approach a Lasallian school offers which has traditionally been held in high regards across Malaysia and Asia.
At SJIIM, academic excellence is solidified by the school’s carefully-crafted curricula design. Beginning with the school’s early years foundation with the Nursery and Reception programme, the International Primary Curriculum is then taught in Years 1 to 6, followed by the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) in Years 7 to 11 and the International Baccalaurate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in Years 12 and 13. In true Lasallian spirit, the school also allocates deserving students scholarships to pursue the IBDP which further reiterates the school’s founding purpose and mission.
The selected academic programmes for SJIIM offer global flexibility to its students, who will have wider tertiary options when they graduate with their IGCSE and IBDP qualifications. This in turn gives the students the advantage of being able to make adjustments to their planned continuing education pathways at different graduating points of the school.
The school goes by the tagline ‘Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve’ and is central to SJIIM’s student development philosophy. It is a mark of St John Baptist De La Salle’s essence of education, which is built on faith, service and community building from within the school. It’s a unique school community feature that is distinct to SJIIM of which the Brother President develops and upholds together with the school’s Head of School and Elementary School Principal.
The three leading pivots of the school are also joined by another three Brothers who complement SJIIM’s international faculty of highly-qualified teachers from around the world. Together, they join hands to guide the students along their rigorous yet personalized and fulfilling academic journey.
Holistic learning is envisioned to be the everyday reality at SJIIM, and this is largely supported by the teachers and the Brothers. Besides providing pastoral care, they also work closely to nurture the character development of the students which is a big part of the school overarching ethos.
This also ties in with the learning through service philosophy of the school, where students get a chance support a range of charities and organisations through community events that will allow them to develop internally while understanding and appreciating the world.
SJIIM is able to cater up to 1,500 plus students on its 6-acre (2.43ha) campus. Its comprehensive range of facilities include state-of-the-art libraries and laboratories, music, arts and sports spaces, swimming and wading pools, a Lasallian formation centre and ample parking spaces complemented by a campus-wide security system.
The presence of these top notch facilities enable a wide range of co-curricular and outdoor learning activities to be conducted which are two other aspects that will contribute towards the all-round progress of their students.
SJIIM welcomes all new and prospective parents for enquiries and admissions at the school. Come visit us and explore what Lasallian holistic education is all about.
