Frequently Asked Questions

At Hisar, we create a learning environment that helps individuals to unlock and maximize their existing potential. Hisar School stands out with an education system that offers teaching and learning models aligned with the worldly renowned Constructionist Education Approach. Our model offers meaningful learning opportunities through real-life experiences, which are in harmony with students’ nature, helps students to gain the habit of accessing, interpreting, and reproducing information, and focuses on their eager participation and motivation.

We adopt the High/Scope development model at our Grades 1-3 so that our students can become successful and happy individuals in the future. According to this model, the High/Scope teacher supports the learning process by providing active learning opportunities in small or large group studies. Participating in these activities also enables students to naturally acquire knowledge and skills required by the core curriculum. Our school’s syllabus comprises MEB’s curriculum and it is further enriched with internal program development efforts.

We go beyond the national curriculum by evaluating different learning methods and implementing various contemporary models to raise our students as individuals having their own unique traits. To this end, only our school’s syllabus features “Plan-Do-Review (PDR)” and “Movement Education”.

We follow contemporary and enriched MEB curriculum throughout the Middle School, as well. We aim to equip our students with a lot of permanent knowledge and skills by using original sources prepared by our teachers, diverse learning methods and techniques, and process-oriented assessment tools. 

At Hisar School, we enable our students to speak English at a native speaker level through the Bilingual Education Program (Turkish and English) we maintain.  

The bilingual education starts in preschool and by the end of Grade 12, our students become well-prepared for the life ahead of them as individuals who can fluently express themselves in both their native language and English. Our Preschool education program is taught 50% in Turkish and 50% in English. We teach 10 hours of English lessons per week in primary school. The aim is to integrate listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with holistic activities. High Scope learning approaches are integrated into the curricula for Grades 1, 2 and 3. At the Middle School level, we teach 10 hours of English lessons per week. Our mathematics and science classes are also taught in both languages. Our students take the international ISA test at each level. 

At the High School level, we teach English Language and Literature, Science, Mathematics, and some elective courses in English. Offered 24 hours a week, the student-centered English education in our preparatory program equips students with leadership, teamwork, independent work, and life skills, which constitute the fundamental and indispensable values of the 21st century. 

Students who have graduated from Private Hisar Middle School or other schools and who wish to enroll directly in the 9th Grade of Private Hisar High School without participating in the Preparatory Program are obliged to take the English Proficiency Exam for the Preparatory Program. The exam aims to target the academic productivity skills required for Hisar High School by assessing the English language proficiency of students. 

The English Proficiency Exam and related practice tests are prepared according to the “Common European Framework B2” criteria by a commission formed by the Hisar School Executive Committee. 

The assessment and evaluation process is defined as an integral part of education and learning in our school’s curriculum. The evaluation objectives for each subject area are defined in our curriculum along with the methods and tools that teachers can use for assessment and evaluation. Besides the curriculum topics, Hisar School’s approach to evaluation also takes into account students’ cognitive, creative, emotional, physical, and social developments. The assessment and evaluation process at Hisar Primary School is comprised of two concepts as the evaluation of learning/acquisition (process-oriented) and the evaluation of learning (result-oriented). The school maintains close communication with parents regularly, informing them about students’ development, and shares feedback on students’ behavior, efforts, and learning styles. The data collected through the assessment and evaluation efforts during the year are then shared with the parents via progress reports.

Student admissions for mid-term classes are carried out by the shared decision of the school administration and the prospective student who applied to our school for that academic year, by examination, and on the condition that we have an available quota.

In the exam, we evaluate Turkish, Mathematics, Sciences, Social Sciences, and English knowledge of the students. Upon evaluation of the exam results, students who are admitted to our school will be placed on the admission lists or waiting lists. When a vacancy becomes available, the parent of the next student on the waiting list will be invited to our school to complete the registration procedures.

Based on the positive assessments they received at the Hisar Middle School and their level of success at the exams specified in our guidelines, students who completed 8th Grade at Hisar Middle School will have a right to enroll in the Hisar High School Preparatory Class or directly enroll in 9th Grade.

Prospective students applying for Hisar High School Preparatory Class or 9th Grade from other schools in Turkey or abroad will be registered to the preparatory class by Hisar High School based on our quota availability, students’ official LGS (High School Entrance Exam) results, and according to the admission calendar declared by Private Schools Association of Turkey.

For those candidates who applied to Hisar High School but live abroad and cannot be in Turkey on the entry exam dates announced by our school, an online examination might be held provided that the school administration gives permission. 

Taking the AP program and AP courses accelerates acceptance to a number of universities around the world and it provides our students with a head start in the university preparation period. At Hisar School, AP courses are selected by taking into consideration students’ needs and desires.

AP program is a learning program that is developed and implemented by the College Board. In addition to the USA, it is also implemented and recognized in more than 60 countries. The program provides high school students with the opportunity to have university-level courses and to be exempt from them in certain universities later on. In addition to the Ministry of National Education (MEB) curriculum, our students are supported by the AP Program in order to be successful in AP exams. Our school is an AP exam center and our students have the opportunity to take the exam on our campus. 

Starting from Grade 9, we inform our students and their parents about the process of university education abroad. In addition to in-class presentations and workshops, we conduct individual meetings with each student and parent. We also advise our students on academic and career choices as well as summer enrichment programs in line with their personal and future goals.

Several standardized tests are administered at Hisar School, which are organized through our International Universities Counseling Office. We administer the PSAT (Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test), which serves as a preparation to SAT, to all grade 10 and 11 students. Each year we also administer the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam in the spring semester, which is open to all high school students. Hisar School is also a Test Center for the SAT and administers the exam six times throughout the academic year.

As a member of the International ACAC (Association for College Admission Counseling), NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling), and CIS (Council of International Schools), our International Universities Counseling Office participates in a variety of professional development programs and university tours throughout the year.

You can access the achievements and university placement information of our graduates along with various statistics from the link provided on the Alumni Association page of our school’s website. 

We organize “Career Exploration Days” every year to acquaint students with various professions. We administer YKS (TYT-AYT) trial exams for students in Grades 10, 11, and 12 and set a course for each student by monitoring their performance in these exams.

Besides in-class presentations and workshops, our efforts include conducting individual meetings with each student and parent, organizing “The National Universities Fair and Career Exploration Day” and arranging student visits in small groups to promote universities in our country.

What we do:

• YKS (TYT-AYT) official exam applications
• University preference and placement procedures related to ÖSYM center
• Occupational observations, Turkish Summer Schools
• Consultancy on individual strategy determination within the scope of YKS (TYT-AYT) preparation process
• Turkish university trips
• The National Universities Fair and Career Exploration Day
• YKS (TYT-AYT) Trial Exams (Grades 10-11-12)
• Online YKS (TYT-AYT) Trial Exams*
• Online YKS (TYT-AYT) Reinforcement Courses*

While the ratio may change from year to year, our alumni are placed in prestigious national or foreign universities in pursuit of their goals. You can access the achievements and university placement information of our graduates along with various statistics from the link provided on the Alumni Association page of our school’s website. 

The Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department is an integral part of education at Hisar School. Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department bases its approach on protective, preventive and developmental guidance with its efforts to address all students’ physical, emotional, social and cognitive needs by considering the age group and their specific requirements from Preschool to the last year of High School (PreK-12). These efforts are aimed towards helping individuals lead a harmonious and happy life by recognizing themselves and their communities, and making realistic plans that work for them.

At our Counseling Department, we value the principles of confidentiality and trust. Our students will be unconditionally accepted and can share anything with us as we listen to them without any prejudice. Through open and honest communication, the Counseling Department encourages students to share their concerns not only on problem areas but also on any area of their lives and delivers the message that ‘The Counseling Department is a place where life is shared’. 

When we switched to the emergency distance learning period following the pandemic, our Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department carried out special efforts to ensure healthy and sustainable communication between students, parents, and teachers. 

While our department developed specific approaches and practices for each age group and grade within K-12, we also arranged online counseling classes across all levels and held video meetings with students via Google Meet when requested or required. The areas on which we focused our efforts during this process include creating new day-to-day routines at home, emotion regulation games, relaxation exercises and self-regulation skills.

As for the 2020-2021 Academic Year, our Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department concentrates its efforts on face-to-face, hybrid, and distance learning processes since different learning models are being implemented. In order to support our students’ socio-emotional and academic developments across all grades, not only do we perform counseling classes, student coaching, and mentorship but we also hold online counseling seminars where we bring our students together with a number of experts on a wide range of subject areas from bullying to a healthy diet.

As our learning habits changed, we also undertook a number of efforts to support our parents, who have been one of the key actors as supporters/stakeholders in this period. We aim to support our parents and help them better adapt to this period by sending them notification letters, newsletters, and articles on a regular basis and through the individual parent meetings and Expert-Parent seminars we hold online.

On the other hand, we conduct teacher orientations and Guidance Counselor-Teacher meetings, share newsletters, hold Expert-Teacher seminars and carry out supervision efforts to meet the needs of our academic staff. We also put a premium on ensuring that they get the necessary emotional support.

There are two infirmaries at our school, one located in the Middle School building, and the other in our Sports Center, with a physician and four nurses serving throughout the day. The infirmary is responsible for providing students with health services during school hours. Nurses inform parents in the event that a medical issue (fever, diarrhea, infectious diseases, etc.) arises on campus.

We keep a full list of medicines and medical equipment stocked in the infirmary in line with the infirmary standards set out by MEB and the Ministry of Health. The list is hung on the infirmary wall. Only the listed medicines can be administered.

We signed an agreement with S.O.S Ambulance Company to use their Alarm Center services in order to ensure that patient/accident victim is transferred to the nearest full-fledged hospital in the best and fastest way possible in the event that a potential medical emergency arises on our campus. This agreement covers students, parents and all employees who are on campus or attending a school-organized event outside the campus at the time of the incident. Once the school physician or other officers have made the decision to call an ambulance (ground/air), they dial the specified numbers.

Being prepared for earthquakes and all kinds of disasters is only possible when all stakeholders act together. In the event of an earthquake occurring during school hours, the roles and responsibilities of our teachers, students, and parents have been defined by the Emergency Management Team to manage the process as effectively as possible, and are presented in this document for your attention. A checklist of duties and responsibilities valid before, during, and after an earthquake has been created. It is of vital importance that each member of the Hisar community fully performs their duties and responsibilities for us to manage the process effectively. As Hisar Schools, we are committed to providing the safest environment for our students in terms of disaster preparedness, effective response, and evacuation action plans, regularly updating and monitoring our preventive, preparedness, and response processes for earthquake and emergency readiness. On our campus, possible hazard risk analyses are conducted, necessary preventive measures are taken, and preparations are made for emergency response in cases where prevention is not possible. The subcontractors we work with also operate within the framework of this plan.

You can access our school’s Disaster, Emergency, Risk, and Crisis Management booklet here.

We aim for our students to have a strong awareness and sensitivity towards ecological and environmental issues and raise them as responsible individuals who will contribute to society by seeking solutions to these problems. Our School has been a member of the International Eco-Schools Program since 2005.

Eco-Schools program aims at teaching environmental consciousness, environmental management and sustainable development at primary schools. With the inclusive approach of the program, students gain knowledge about environmental issues and take active roles in increasing the environmental awareness of their families, local administrations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The program also enables an environmental management system based on ISO 14001/EMAS to be implemented across schools. Our school was awarded with “Green Flag” by TURCEV (Turkish Environmental Education Association) for the efforts we carried out under the “Garbage, Waste, Recycling” theme between 2005 and 2007. We focused our efforts on “Water” between 2007 and 2009, and kept working around the “Energy” theme between 2009 and 2011, once again being rewarded with the Green Flag as a result. The theme of the 2011-2013 period was decided as “Biodiversity”. Hisar School has been the Region Coordinator of the Eco-Schools Program in Istanbul European Side since 2010. We form an Eco-Team (consisting of students) and an Eco-Committee (consisting of representative teachers, administrators, parents and local administration representatives) at the beginning of each year to ensure that the program runs efficiently. Eco-Team consists of students who chose to be a member of the Eco-Schools club and other voluntary environmentalist students. Each year, we determine the activities that are to be included in the curricula of each branch and set a course of action. Some of the theme-based activities and actions conducted are as follows: Instruments made from recycled material (percussion) – “Energy chats” – ENO; participating in the Tree Planting, The March of the Frogs activities – Cleansing Golden Horn – Waste Battery Collecting Campaigns (under the coordination of TAP and TURCEV) – Kyoto protocol; Carbon Emission Market – Wind Farm trip (Çatalca). For this year, we are planning to make an eco-friendly house model (that produces its own energy and keeps heat and water conversation at maximum). Additionally, our school has successfully completed the Rcube (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse) Comenius project in 2007-2009 period. In 2008, out of posters from 200 countries, water-themed posters designed by two of our students were awarded the grand prize and jury’s special by NVOC (Nature’s Voice Our Choice). We also competed in the 2008 Volvo Adventure Project Contest with our “Pet to Fibers, Fibers to Coat, Coat for Children” project. We collected PET bottles from the school, which were then transformed into fibers at SASA facilities in Adana, and then to coats by Kardem Tekstil. The coats were then gifted to the children in need in Göktürk.