AMERICAN ACADEMY IN Bratislava
6TH - 12TH GRADE
A network of American schools, we are inspired by the best educational concepts from around the world: freedom to choose subjects, individual approach, subjects divided according to competences, emphasis on practical learning, project-based learning and theme weeks. All classes are taught in English and led by a team of teachers from all over the world.
American Academy in Bratislava has opened with a fresh and unique approach to acquiring knowledge. Although it is a new school, we continue the tradition of experience and success of the American Academy brand. We strive to create a student-centered, international environment where students can build their curriculum utilizing project-based learning methodology. Our students have the opportunity to acquire true life skills in a wide range of activities and assessments.
Our teaching faculty focuses on individuals while simultaneously inviting students to work in groups. This helps students creative significant solutions to real problems they face every day. Students here grow academically by exploiting their talents. Furthermore, we're excited to present this year's Theme Weeks, where the whole student body and staff will be cooperating in one project. Every trimester, the school will step away from regular classes for a week and work on Fear, Cultures Around the world, and Films on Life and Death.
The Middle School program corresponds to grades 6-8 in the Slovak educational system. It offers students a diverse range of subjects on which they can exercise a certain amount of choice so that they can focus more on the areas that really interest them.
The subjects are divided into several departments, including but not limited to Mathematics, World Languages and Natural Sciences. From each department, students choose the subjects they want to pursue -- the condition being, of course, that students achieve the required number of credits.
High School students work to develop their strengths and focus on subjects that prepare them to study their dream disciplines at quality universities around the world.
High School has four grades and corresponds to the Slovak 9th grade of elementary to 3rd grade of high school, so American Academy students leave school a year earlier than is common in the Slovak Republic. Thanks to the composition and quality of the subjects offered, however, they depart high school better prepared for university than anyone else. We pay maximum attention to counseling and preparation for university studies at this level.
Our curriculum is inspired by the best of world’s educational programs, notably American and Finnish systems.
Our students have the freedom to choose the subjects they want to study so they can focus on what really interests them and develop necessary social and practical skills during high school.
Much like the International Baccalaureate Diploma or British high school diploma, our students must get their diploma validated if they want to apply for a Slovak & Czech university. It is a process which we are familiar with, and we are happy to help the students go through it. American Academy also offers Advanced Placement courses, which are equivalent to university courses in the American and Canadian systems. Students take exams in these subjects, which are comparable to the IB exams and accepted by universities around the world.
Our unique concept gives the students the freedom to choose courses they want to study at the level that best fits their needs and competencies. The classes are not necessarily divided according to grade level, but rather academic ability. This allows for an academic atmosphere where the differences in ability level between students are not so large, ultimately allowing our teachers to approach teaching more individually, and therefore, more effectively.
We believe it is crucial that our students had easy access to knowledge that is not usually taught at schools. We offer a wide variety of choices, which allows students to focus on what really interests them and what they enjoy.
Theme week
In addition to our American based curriculum, American Academy offers theme weeks inspired by Finnish academic traditions. During theme weeks, there is a school-wide project that develops skills and competencies such as communication, team work, collaboration, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking or project management.
Fear and Escape Rooms were the focuses of the first Theme Week in the American Academy in Bratislava. Even though this was held from October 21st – 26th, much planning and preparation came beforehand. We split the school into 3 main groups: Business, Bunker, and Hospital. The Business group was in charge of advertising, sales, finances and customer service. The other two groups focused on their specific escape rooms. Students and faculty worked together to learn about fear, handling a business and presenting an excellent product to the public. We had dozens of satisfied customers coming in on Thursday, Friday and Saturday trying to get out of locked rooms under a certain amount of time.
Our third Theme Week this last year was: Films - What does it mean to be alive? The student body was split into seven groups with a specified movie genre each, and their goal was to create a short film answering the question about the meaning of life. Weeks before Theme Week officially began, students had already started preparing some ideas. They came up with names for their groups, genres, plot outlines, and some elements of their scripts. Some groups met to record their scenes while others did everything from home. Monday through Thursday, students filmed, edited, and uploaded their films.
Then we met virtually as a school several times to see the films that the students had created and give feedback to each other. We also held an awards ceremony recognizing the best parts of each film, the best films, and the best actor/performance.
Students learned some technical skills such as recording with a camera, acting, and editing. But the week also helped improve some of our soft skills such as time and resource management, communication, and accountability. Further , taking a more philosophical and personal approach meant students were able to ponder and discuss “what it means to be alive”.
Don’t expect long tests; we are mostly interested in the student’s character and enthusiasm. That is why we focus on a personal interview and written essays. For the academic year 2021/22, we have spots for 60 students.
An American Academy graduate is a confident young person who is engaged in the immediate world around them and will be mindful of those that exist around them. They have developed confidence, solve problems actively, and always take full ownership of their actions. They have discovered what their main values are and are able to act upon them.
Graduating from an international school, the students are ready to begin higher education anywhere in the world, including the highest ranking universities.
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