Students have begun studying time zones, maps, world cultures, and more.

With the start of the 2010 school year, students at JPA added another subject to their current curriculum of math, science, English language arts and Khmer language arts: Social Studies. The many subjects of social studies are now a daily part of a JPA student’s education.

Students are using the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbooks series to learn about geography, history, government, and more. This is the first major change in curriculum since science was added as a subject in 2009.

So far, students are enjoying the new material. Sopheara in grade 7 says, "It is very interesting. I can learn about the different cultures and history."

The 2010 school year has officially begun. Wednesday, August 11th brought students and family members to the open house, re-acquainting students with the school and their classrooms. Thursday marked the first full day for all 1-10 students. "I’m looking forward to a year of learning with my new students," said Teacher Tracey.

"It is not the same as the old year and I am happy," said Grade 3 student Yorng Chhieng. This year will be full of exciting new things, including the beginning of the Social Studies curriculum, a new extracurricular program and the first ever Khmer Spelling Bee. Keep an eye out for more updates!

The newest additions to the Jay Pritzker Academy have finally been selected. After two weeks of village advertising through various media and three days of on-campus testing, the final 50 students were chosen from a total of 430 applicants.

The nervous five-year-olds were herded through their tests with the help of the JPA faculty as well as the newly elected student council members and a selection of students who have helped with the process in the past.

In order to become full time kindergarten students at JPA, the children must show their abilities by performing tasks such as assembling nesting cups, repeating patterns and solving simple logic problems.

The 2010 Summer School, held for three weeks in July, was a complete success. Fifteen teachers from around the world came together to offer JPA students an exciting month of creativity, culture and interactive learning.

Students studied a range of subjects and the month culminated with an assembly in which each class performed for their peers. Grade 10’s time machine drama was a huge hit, as was the dinosaur version of Cinderella by Grade 2, and many classes sang and danced about a topic they studied.

This year’s summer program also featured the first ever Track and Field Day! Between tug of war, the three-legged race, the hula hoop chain, and the huge yellow inflatable castle, the students had busy day packed full of teamwork, friendly competition and huge smiles.

This year’s summer school brought an unexpected surprise to JPA. High school seniors Josh Palay and Shahriyar Haque arrived in Cambodia with a suitcase full of science materials, including 10 brand new microscopes, a remote control helicopter and magnets. The teens from a high school just outside of Chicago raised the money within their school to purchase the materials for JPA. They also planned lessons about cells, aerodynamics and electricity for summer school which featured everything that they brought. They tested paper airplanes, looked at slides and launched foam rockets, all in the name of science.