The International School of Kuala Kencana (ISKK) is located in Kuala Kencana, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. ISKK was officially opened on August 22, 1996, which makes us 3 years old. The opening day was highly anticipated by staff, students parents and community members. The school is sponsored by P.T. Freeport Indonesia and serves the expatriate community working in the Mimika District of Irian Jaya.
There are currently 60 students enrolled in the school. The student population comes from the United States, Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand. ISKK offers an American style curriculum which is modified to fit the needs of the student body. There are currently 14 teachers and staff working at the school: 11 Americans, 1 Australian, 1 Canadian and 3 Indonesian. The school has eight classrooms including a science and a computer laboratory. We are currently developing a well-equipped library. The school also includes an outdoor covered gym and a kitchen. The computer lab and many classes are wired for internet access.
We live in the middle of the rain forest. Everywhere you look hear it is pure rain forest. Kuala Kencana is located in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Irian Jaya is the third largest island in the world. The isolation is peaceful. The isolation of Irian Jaya has really helped the plants and animals. Many plants in the rain forest are new species. Hornbills, sulfur-crested cockatoos, and parrots traversing the sky as they have done here for thousands of years. There are also many bugs, snakes, bandicoots, tree kangaroos, some cassowary, cus cus as well as reported sighting of Tasmanian Devils. The town was designed to fit into the lowlands rain forest as much as possible, and the children are able to enjoy the diverse wildlife which is abundant in the surrounding rain forest.
Kuala Kencana (Golden Estuary in the Indonesian Language) is located in the lowlands of Irian Jaya approximately 20 kilometers from the town of Timika which has approximately 60,000 people which hosts a very busy airport these days. Kuala Kencana was conceived by Freeport Indonesia as the administrative base for their mining operations in the highlands of Irian Jaya just beyond the town of Tembagapura. Kuala Kencana was designed as a model for future urban development in Indonesia. The town is home for approximately 3,000 Indonesian and Expatriate residents. It includes a national and international school, bowling alley, shopping mall, golf course, several restaurants, and food stalls, a swimming pool, tennis and badminton courts and numerous other facilities. Children arrive at school via bus and bicycle. On the way to school children pass beneath large hornbills
In the area's surrounding Kuala Kencana, there are many tribes. Some of the tribes are the Aggats people, the Kamora's, and the local head hunters. Up near Tembagapura there are the people that live in a community called Banti. These people are of the tribe Amungma.
Farther up the mountain we have got the largest copper reserve in the world. And at the mine they also mine copper and gold. The mine is about three hours away from Kuala Kencana. But there is another town closer to the mine called Tembagapura. There is a school there too, hit the "hot link" in our home page to find out about them.