The School also has teachers from many different nationalities including the United States and England. The school makes sure that students always use the English language in class in order to create an environment similar to the US.
Education
The School offers the
As of 14/05/2023 (Day/Month/Year) this are the courses that the school offers. The school will be very reluctant to letting students do IB courses online, this only happens as an exception in the following 2.
* A student arrives at the school with previously selected IB courses * A student shows she/he is capable of impeccable time management and organisation.Limitations of the Courses
Sometimes because of a lack of multiple teachers of the same subject, there are some combinations of classes that can't be taken. The impossible combinations change every year, as of now 12/06/2023, Computer Science and Chemistry can't are an impossible combination since both happen at the same time.
After-School Activities (Extracurricular Activities)
Sports * Volleyball * Basketball * Soccer * Swimming (Swimming pools not included in the building, students must take a bus to the Uruguay Naval Academy where they will have their swimming lessons.)The school competes in national leagues as well as the international competition of SAAC.
Other After School Activities * Band * Gymnastics * Writing Lab * Theatre Club * Environmental Club * Film ClubThe School is very prone to adding random activities and deciding if they keep it or not depending on student feedback. Foe example the school has recently collaborated with the
South American Activities Conference
The South American Activities Conference (often abbreviated to SAAC)" is a conference composed of international schools from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay." . These are the SAAC Events the Uruguayan American School participates in as of 23/08/2023.
* SAAC Soccer * SAAC Basketball * SAAC Swimming * SAAC Volleyball * SAAC STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics)(The SAAC STEAM event haswebsite
that some students made for their CAS Project.) * SAAC Fine Arts (Music, Visual Arts, Theatre, and Media) * SAAC Tennis
History
The Uruguayan American School was founded on April 14, 1958 by a group of Uruguayan and American citizens residing in Montevideo. Their goal was to promote an intercultural understanding between Uruguay and the United States and to provide a U.S-Style education in Uruguay which included academic programs for both countries. Most students were American citizens in Uruguay whose parents chose this kind of education for their children
In 1956 UAS has its origin when Mr Christie declares his intentions to open a grant-in-aid American school. The American School was going to have a U.S. curricula and teaching methods and was targeted to U.S. and international children. The institution worked towards official accreditation by Uruguayan authorities from its origins.
On 1958 April 14 under director Louisa Harston, the school opened its doors with twelve students. The principal founders were Mrs. Blanca Caroselli, a teacher from the U.S. Embassy; and Mr. Arturo Marquez, a prominent Uruguayan engineer. The academic programs in Spanish were approved by the Comision Nacional de Educacion; those in English by the U.S. Embassy
In 1960 From the beginning, UAS adopted an inclusive education approach, different from that of other local, more traditional bilingual schools. This was evidently welcomed by the community since it soon needed extra space. A new site was opened.
The school bought its own building at Bulevar Artigas 160. At the time there were 190 students. The school offered Nursery through sixth grade, plus the first two years of Uruguay Secondary Program.
In 1964 September the enrollment was 178. An annex for the secondary division was closed and the classes moved to the main school at Bulevar Artigas 160
In 1969 August the school was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The first High School Graduation, with a senior class of eight students, took place at the American Women's Club.
In 1978 the school achieved a major objective in February with the purchase of its new site at Avenida Dublin 1785 in the Carrasco neighborhood for students from Nursery through Grade 12. The larger campus included a soccer field and playground. It became the school's home for 35 years.
In 1984 it became evident that the school needed more space. There were 210 students from seventeen different nationalities. In the summer of 1984 an indoor gym, a larger multipurpose room, a new science lab and a new library were added.
In 1997-98 the Consejo Directivo Central (CODICEN) recognized grades 7, 8, and 9 of the Uruguayan American School as equivalent to Ciclo Basico Uruguayo
On July 19 1999 Uruguay and the United States signed an educational agreement by which UAS Secondary Division was recognized as a "liceo con equivalencia de habilitacion." UAS students had to take the subjects: Uruguayan History, Civics, Sociology, Law, Spanish Language and Spanish literature in Spanish following the Uruguayan curricula in order to obtain their UP Diploma.
In 2000 In the Elementary School (Grades 1 to 6th for the Uruguayan Program) the Consejo de Educacion Inicial y Primaria (CEIP) accredited (granted habilitacion) to UAS as Colegio Habilitado Numero 163. This allowed the students that graduated from UAS' elementary school to enter any other secondary school in Uruguay without taking an external admission test, as was once required.
In 2002 the school purchased and started the construction of its current campus at Avenida Saldun de Rodriguez 2375, also in Carrasco.
In August 2003 the school moved to the new campus. At that point in time, the school had nearly 300 students from all around the world. The new campus had three hectares and occupied 6100 square meters of building space for the Nursery through Secondary School programs.
In August 2013, UAS was approved to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diplomma Programme, also approved by the Uruguayan Ministry of Education, allowing graduating students to study in any university in Uruguay, the region, U.S. and Europe.
In September 2015 UAS changed its accreditation agency to NEASC
In September 2016 the school inaugurated its new secondary wing which added 1000 square meters of additional space. The new wing contains 3 regular classrooms, 2 smaller classrooms, 1 science laboratory, 1 science storeroom, 1 art room, 4 areas of "flexible learning space"(Flex Spaces), 2 new faculty workrooms, 1 new block of boys and girls bathrooms.
Building
The entrance leads directly to the main hall. The main hall has two other attached halls to it, the Primary Education Hall and the Secondary Education Hall. The Secondary Education section has two Flexible Workspaces both upstairs and downstairs. It also has a library, an art room, 3 science rooms connected by storage rooms, and a computer lab.
The Primary Education section has an art room upstairs, a computer lab connected to the art room, and language learning classes connected to the art room. At the end of the Primary Education Hall, there is the Elementary Section, which has its own enclosed playground for kids to play in safely.
The main hall has a bridge in the ceiling for people to be able to cross the main hall even while being upstairs. The main hall also has an entrance to the theatre, which is connected with a removable wall. In important events or occasions, the removable wall is removed to expand the theatre, making the main hall part of it.
The Music Room is connected to the main hall, the lunch room, and the theatre.
The Lunch room has some stairs connected to the primary computer lab, as well as the primary language learning classes. The lunch room has a big window that separates leads to the playground. The playground has tables and shade to allow people to eat outside.
The two gymnasiums can be accessed through the outdoors or through the cafeteria. One gymnasium has a wooden floor as well as a weight room. This gymnasium has stairs that lead to a Robotics Room, this is the only way to access the robotics room which many may say is an awkward placement.
The second gymnasium is named the Mauricio Levitin gymnasium since he was the one that contributed most to the construction of the gymnasium. It has a rubber floor and windows all around that allow students to easily access the playground. It does have one flaw though, the windows also let sunlight in, which sometimes expands the rubber making it pop out slightly. This makes basketballs unable to bounce properly, so this must be taken into consideration for basketball training. Both come equipped to be turned into a volleyball court.
The outdoors has several patches of fake grass as well as some games painted onto some concrete, like for example See also
* Americans in UruguayReferences
External links
Uruguayan American School