In a climactic end to Term 1, we held a hugely successful Sports Days for our Pre-primary and Primary schools. The slogan of these events was All Stars because we believe all our students are capable of great achievements in sports and all spheres of life.

 

Fun and games

Our brand new houses competed in a wide array of fun-filled, adrenaline-pumping activities. There were 4 categories of awards: Tenacity Award, Excellence Award, Unity Award and Positivity Award with each house receiving a custom-made Nova Shield.

 

 

Parents are the best cheerleaders

We thank all parents for joining in on the fun and making the event a success. A special thank you goes to all parents who volunteered their time to help with the planning and execution of the day. We also appreciate our event sponsors namely Genesis Sports Limited, Highlands Water, International Maestro Music Centre, Sarakasi Dance Trust and MP Shah Hospital for their services.

 

Some of our Grade Four students recently participated in the annual Little Einstein Science Fair at Aga Khan High School. The little Novaneers wowed the crowd and scooped the first prize in “Clarity of Expression” for their innovative project dubbed “The Lemon Battery”. 

 

Inspiring the next Generation of science explorers

Little Einsteins East Africa believes that Science Exploration in young children begins with Fun, and sets the basis for a lifelong interest and knowledge of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Learning. The intention of their Science Fair is to showcase the innovation of children in STEM. The children showcasing their projects are between the ages of 3 and 12 years old.

 

 

STEAM at Nova Pioneer

Our Novaneers continue to amaze us with how much they can learn and accomplish in and out of the classroom. Nova Pioneer introduced STEAM-based learning programmes in an effort to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the 21st century. STEAM learning will not only produce tomorrow’s designers and engineers; it will develop innovative mindsets and the ability to problem-solve, ensuring that our students become creators of technology, not just passive consumers. 

 

 

Taking science beyond the classroom

We are proud to be part of developing the next generation of science explorers. Nova Pioneer teachers encourage students to participate in extracurricular science activities such as the Little Einstein Science Fair as a way for them to further develop science content knowledge and process skills.

Our Tatu City and Athi Primary schools recently hosted its Annual Parent Mixer. It always brings us great joy when we get the opportunity to come together and interact with our prospective families as a community.

 

Welcoming our new Novaneer parents

With every new year, we welcome new families to the Nova Pioneer community. The goal for us is to ensure that new families have the best experience even before they full enroll with us.

 

A real Nova Pioneer experience

This year we took parent engagement a notch higher by hosting our first ever Parent Mixer. The Parent Mixer is an annual event that provides an opportunity for prospective families to interact with our Learning Team, meet our teachers who will shape the experience of their young ones during their time at Nova Pioneer.

 

 

Fun and games

The first parent mixer took place at Tatu Primary with a great turn out from prospective families set to join us in 2020. Our prospective parents had a great time learning about what Nova Pioneer Primary – Tatu city is all about and what to expect when they join us. There was laughter, knowledge, puzzles, and gifts. The Nova Pioneer culture from our amazing teachers, the incredible principal was quite impressionable.

 

All those who were present left with their hearts full and from the feedback received on how beautifully the session was run, they cannot wait for the start of school next year!

Today’s students have an exceptional array of options available to them after completing high school, but the path to post-secondary success is filled with uncertainty and challenges. Many elements  can impact a student’s ability to succeed after completing high school. We want to ensure that students perform well academically and ensure that they feel supported and prepared to succeed beyond Nova Pioneer.

 

Exploring post-secondary options

We recently established a Post-School Success (PSS) Team, which has developed a programme to provide all students with personalised guidance on exploring post-secondary options. Our PSS programme is a unique offering available to all senior students at the secondary school level.

The Post School Success team’s goal is to ensure that all students graduate with the character, capabilities & connections to pursue their passions through the best post-secondary fit. One of the ways through which they do this is providing avenues for parents and students to learn about different career options through University visits.

The Post School Success Team held a Fair in the month of August that hosted 10 local and 16 international universities (public and private institutes).  The universities had a wealth of information and inspiration to share with our secondary school form 3 and form 4 boys and girls students alongside their families. 

 

An introduction to SATs

The form 4 students continued to strengthen their skills as they head into KCSEs while the form 3 students were introduced to SATs and also filled in skill gaps across four key academic subjects. The families were also equipped with the right information and tools to enable them to make good decisions when it comes to selecting universities for their children.  We have since received positive feedback and lots of gratitude from the Nova Pioneer families and community for this successful initiative.

Above: Current families during the University fair.

There was so much pride at the Scouts Investiture Ceremony held on 8th June 2019. The investiture ceremony marks when a Scout, by means of the words of the Scout Promise, publicly announces their commitment to the Scout Law. At the ceremony, the Scout makes the Promise to the Scouts and Scouters of their troop and to all the Scouts of the world. It is once the candidate has made the promise that they become a Scout and once a scout, always a scout.

Above: Nova Pioneer Scouts with their parents during the investiture ceremony.

The Ruiru Subcounty Commissioner, Mr. Otundo officiated the ceremony where the scouts were invested in groups of five scouts and thereafter awarded certificates, budgets, and cards that officially classifies them to be Sungura scouts! Salute to all our Scouts on this huge milestone.

At the beginning of Term 2, Jeanne Sere, our Form 3 student and a philanthropist in the making, was nominated to be part of the Ashoka Globalizer event. She was invited to share her journey of change-making on stage and the hosts were honored to have her. 

 

Purpose projects

Secondary School students are encourage to find real life purpose projects that they want to get involved in. We believe that students who show a sense of purpose have a deeply developed intrinsic motivation to achieve a goal or take part in an activity. This means they are not motivated to achieve something simply because they can, because it is hard, or because they get rewarded or recognized for it. Rather, they do it because they have a deep internal interest in pursuing it—and derive pleasure from the process.

Above: Jeanne Sere at the Ashoka Globalizer event earlier this year.

 

Re-use and recycle

Jeanne noticed an opportunity in reusing and recycling clothes. Through identifying this need, she began collecting old uniforms and clothes from her peers and converting them into other garments or simply donating them to the needy. Earlier this term, she collected a total of 600 kilograms of clothes and shoes. 

 

A valuable investment

In April, her project, SMILES received a Ksh 20,000 award from Africa Collect Textiles for her stellar achievements. “We as Africa Collect Textiles are happy to be a part of Jeanne’s launch of textile collection at Nova Pioneer High School. This launch resulted in a gain of approximately 600 kilograms of Textiles and Footwear ” – Africa Collect Textiles. We congratulate and stand by Jeanne as she continues to further this project to greater heights.

Nova Pioneer recently congratulated three students who were chosen to participate in Yale Young Global Scholars Programme and spend two weeks at Yale University.

Yale Young Global Scholars is an academic enrichment and leadership programme that brings outstanding high school students from around the world to Yale University or Yale Center Beijing for intensive two-week sessions each summer.

With participants from 120+ countries across the world for the 2019 cohort, Kenya had a strong representation with a total of six students selected to join the program in  July. 

 

Nova Pioneer scooped half of those spots which saw three of our students spend two weeks at Yale University in July. Speaking to the elated students earlier, they took some time to share about their hopes for the impact the programme will have on them with warm words.

 

George Nyarumba

George Nyarumba, a Form Three student was part of the Frontiers of Science & Technology cohort and that took place in  New Haven, home of Yale University. Take a look at what he had to say about his experience.

 

 

Wangui Waweru

Wangui Waweru, a Form Three student joined the Biological & Biomedical Science track towards the enthused about the fact that she learned more about the medical field which she has long been interested in as well as connecting with like-minded counterparts from all over the world!

 

John Nderitu

John Nderitu, a Form Four student, was part of the Applied Science & Engineering track, kicking off in mid-June mentioned that he is looking forward to a holistic learning experience that will widen his worldview. 

 

Post School Success Team

Today’s students have an exceptional array of options available to them after completing high school, but the path to post-secondary success is filled with uncertainty and challenges — both for young people and the adults who support them. Also, as the parent of a teen who is about to complete their secondary education, you may wonder what options your child will have after high school. 

Our Post School Success team helps students looking into this path answer questions that they may have about the process, including how the application process works; what educational programmes are available and which may just right for them? The team supports students by alerting Nova Pioneer students to Open Applications and Open Days, as well as help them with their application process.

 It was a flamboyant collage of color as our Nova Pioneer Primary school campuses celebrated the annual Literary Character Baraza.

The Literary Character Baraza  was a fun opportunity for our students to dress up like their favourite book character and bring their book with them to school to share.

Our young Novaneers truly brought their favourite book characters to life, by dressing up in various storybook costumes and created incredible memories that will live with them for a long time to come. Some of the book characters represented were Red Riding Hood, Peter Pan, Lion King, Tinkerbell, Superwoman, Batman, Michelle Obama among others. 

Featuring a headline act from “Sharkie”, our very own mascot, the baraza included the launch of an essay writing contest, celebration of exemplar student pieces from Bookworm Month, music festival item performances, a comical skit about empathy and, of course, the finale, a rendition of our Bookworm Month’s theme song, “Reading Song”, about the value of reading. 

Thereafter, students held truly magnificent processions back to class joyfully waving their favorite book character placards! Little wonder none of them wanted the baraza to end!