Do you know what your child’s signature learning style is? Knowing how to identify your child’s primary learning style can help parents determine how their child learns best. Parents are encouraged to take an interest in how their child learns so that they can support them and send them to the right school for their respective skills set. Children take in and apply material in different ways.

At Nova Pioneer, we support our students in unlocking their individualistic interests and passions. We also strive to prepare our students to achieve results that are far beyond what they initially think is possible. We treat our students as leaders and they rise to meet our expectations by developing the character and skills set that they need to lead.

Looking at Kinaesthetic, Visual and Auditory as three of the most recognized primary learning styles prominent in children, parents can observe the following indicators to see which learning style out of the three their child falls in:

 

The Kinaesthetic Style

Kinaesthetic students learn best through practical lessons that require them to make or create something. Parents can look out for indicators in their children such as efficiency in undertaking chores, an interest in physical activities as well as dancing.

 

The Visual Style

Visual students learn best through reading or by means of depictions and audio-visual mediums. Parents can look out for indicators in their children such as an interest for arts and crafts, writing and colours. Visually inclined students will have a big imagination, good memory and they will remember fine details.
They are also prone to be good storytellers.

 

The Auditory Style

Auditory students learn best through listening because they tend to have a sharp ear and are intrigued by sounds. Parents can easily identify an auditory learning style in their children by observing their interest towards music, animal sounds and other sounds around them. Auditory students are often good listeners and they take instructions as well as directions well when delivered verbally.

Nonetheless, it’s important for parents to not limit their children’s capabilities to learn. Learning styles are subject to change and your child may have more than one learning style. We encourage parents to respond to their child’s learning needs at every stage of their growing process.

 

Today (June 16) South Africa pauses to recognise Youth Day.  Across Africa, it is the International Day of the African Child.  Both of these acknowledge the initiative, sacrifice and leadership of South Africa’s youth of 1976, who rose with courage to the foremost challenge of their time in resisting apartheid; in resisting a system of education designed to subjugate them.  

In commemorating the youth of 1976 today, we should also ask what the foremost challenge of today’s youth may be?  What initiative, courage and leadership does it ask of them?  And how do schools today need to be different to be arenas in which young Africans can develop the capacity and conviction to meet the present, and shape the future?

 

This can be the African Century

Our mission at Nova Pioneer is to develop generations of innovators and leaders who will shape the African Century.  That mission is grounded upon the realisation that the future will be African, and on the conviction that the potential of that future lies within the boundless human potential of young Africans.  

 

Numerically, the future will be African. 

Just one decade from now, in 2030, there will be more young people entering the workforce across Africa than the rest of the world combined.   By 2100, Africans will represent between 30-50% of the world’s population, compared to just 17% today.  That population growth represents the foremost challenge — and opportunity — ahead for our youth and continent, and one of the top realities that will shape the world over the next 100 years.  

 

Africa’s pace of change

In addition to those numbers, Africa’s youth face a future with the same rapid and accelerating pace of change in technology, global interaction and culture, climate, and wealth as is faced by young people the world over.  Some of these will be positive (more productive technologies, better healthcare), some negative (climate change, infectious diseases), some could be both (artificial intelligence) — but all at a rate that will be both dizzying and exhilarating.  

 

Empowering youth to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities

On the one hand, the African Century could be one of great promise: a rising of Africa’s talent, culture and prominence, contributing to a richer and more equitable world.  On the other, it could betray that promise, with expanding inequality, conflict and suffering.  

The key to what happens, of course, is what we do about Africa’s human capacity — and about youth development in particular.  There are no shortages on this continent of opportunities to do good and do well; of problems to solve, contributions to make, innovations to create or institutions to strengthen.  From the figures above, there is no shortage of innate talent to do that good work.  The question is how we equip that talent to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities?

 

Africa’s education system can be the answer

Africa’s education mission has to be pursued on two fronts at the same time. First by providing all children with access to basic education which in turn gives access to basic opportunities. Secondly by equipping more youth with the kind of skills that they will need to shape the future.

 

Mission I: Provide Basic Education

We need to significantly and rapidly improve the foundational ability of all children to read, write and calculate skillfully.  These are the keys to accessing basic opportunities in life and without these, a child never leaves the starting blocks.  While we have made tremendous progress on getting children into primary schools across Africa, too few of our children are actually developing reasonable competence to read, write or calculate.  This is an imperative and opportunity for both governments and private social innovators alike.  

 

Mission II: Skills to Shape the Future

We also need to significantly expand access to education that equips young people with the skills, self-confidence, character, and social capital to shape the future.  While the first imperative of broadening access to basic education is one shared by everyone in global education, it is on this second imperative that we at Nova Pioneer are particularly focused.  

 

Once more, however, the question is ‘how?’  

 

Encourage a culture of voice, enquiry and collaboration

If our schools are to be arenas of empowerment and invention — in stark contrast to their roles in Soweto of 1976 — then we need to shift our cultures and our teaching to encourage student voice and build skills of collaboration.  

Firstly, that means a shift in how we learn and teach.  From time spent lecturing to time spent posing and provoking questions.  From teacher talk time to more student talk and think time.  From respond-and-reply, to building students’ skills to form hypotheses, articulate and substantiate a view, and passionately yet collaboratively debate, dissent and deliberate on ideas. 

Secondly, it means a shift in relationships.  From a culture of silent obedience to a culture of respectful engagement.  Silent obedience erupts in moments of resistance and recrimination — as we have seen repeatedly across our sector.  Respectful engagement may unearth similar issues, but with more mutual capacity to forge solutions by which we can all live and in which we share a sense of authorship.    

This requires new skills and strategies, and courage as educators and parents.  Many of us adults have grown up in clearly hierarchical cultures, or with norms of quiet obedience to our elders or leaders.  Indeed, respect for elders is a valued norm across much of Africa — and certainly is deeply ingrained in my own upbringing as an Igbo boy.  But relationships that have shared voice and mutual respect across age and hierarchy is needed if we are to equip our children to engage the world ahead with confidence and skill.  

 

Globally competitive standards

If our youth are to shape the African Century to be a century of flourishing, alongside their peers from around the world, then they need to achieve levels of academic growth and skill development that equips them to collaborate as peers and leaders globally.    

Indeed, the single most important cultural norm a school can set is probably holding high expectations.  In all sorts of contexts of resources and external culture, show me a school with strong outcomes and I’ll wager it is a school that sets high expectations and demonstrates its belief that students can meet them.  By stretching to meet high expectations young people gain the single most important lesson that they can from school: that they are fundamentally capable of learning, growing and achieving.  

 

Servant Leadership has the power to transform Africa

In recent years I have had the privilege of leading a session of our secondary schools’ leadership course.  In it, we frame up two notions of what it means to be a leader: the first is a leader who expects the servitude of those that she or he leads — “the boss” we label it.  The alternative is a leader who expects to serve and make better the lives of those she or he leads — “the servant leader” we label it.  Africa has no shortage of formal leaders.  However, our experience and examples of leadership have far too often been that of ‘the boss’, and that has betrayed so much of our possibility.

If our youth are to shape an African Century of flourishing — of greater prosperity and equity — then they will need to develop into a generation of servant leaders.  Sadly, there may simply not be enough visible examples of this today to argue convincingly that it is in practice viable.  We need to make examples of servant leadership more visible, and our youth will need to prove its viability with their example of their own lives.  For that to happen, we have to start early to cultivate an ethic and habit of servant leadership.  It will not develop on its own later.  School is where we start.  

 

Our Youth Hold the Promise and Power to Shape the African Century

As today we look back with appreciation on the youth of 1976, let us also look forward with commitment to the youth of 2021.  We stand once again at a frontier with an uncertain future, reliant as we always have been on our children to shape it.  They hold within them the promise and power to shape the African Century.  The development of their character, capabilities and social connection — heavily through our schools — will determine what kind of century awaits.

Our Nova Pioneer Schools in Kenya recently celebrated the Class of 2020 for the exemplary results achieved on their KCSE exams and we do not doubt that the students are ready to take over the world. 

 

From Surviving to Thriving

In 2020, education across the world was abruptly derailed by COVID-19 at every level. In many countries, schools struggled to address the safety of children while also helping them continue to learn and grow. Without a doubt, Nova Pioneer secondary students, in particular,  demonstrated a high level of commitment during the last year, despite the unprecedented disruption and uncertainty presented by the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The Nova Pioneer Class of 2020 overcame many challenges to post good results and rose above the challenges that came their way. We are encouraged by their performance.

We are extremely grateful to the teaching and support teams who have drawn on their extensive teaching and coaching experience to support all students through this immensely difficult time. The resilience shown by our Nova Pioneer Tatu Boys and Girls Secondary teachers and students is a true demonstration of how we live out our culture principles of High Expectations and Always Growing.

 

Meeting and Exceeding High Expectations

The Nova Pioneer graduates of both the Boys and Girls schools achieved remarkable success.  Our 231 graduates achieved a mean grade of 8.02 (a B-), with both schools achieving that B- average.  77% of the Class of 2020 earned a C+ or higher.  In addition, the Class of 2020 included our first two ‘A plain’ average achievers (one per school), a feat accomplished by less than 0.2% of candidates nationally. 

A particular shout out goes to the women of Tatu Girls Secondary Class of 2020 for setting a strong standard as the school’s founding and graduating class.

 

 

Where to from here?

Our Post School Success team will continue to engage with the Class of 2020 to ensure that every Nova Pioneer student will be ready to pursue their passion through the best post school fit and are ready to take over in their industry of choice.  Already, across the Tatu Boys and Tatu Girls graduating classes of 2020, 

• 7 students  have applied to the African Leadership University, and all have been offered a preliminary admission, pending submission of their KCSE results. 
• 97 students have been admitted to Strathmore University. 
• 2 students have been admitted to York University in Toronto, Canada one of them receiving a CAD 40,000 in scholarship from the faculty of liberal arts.
• One student has been admitted to 3 colleges in the US, with scholarships, and will join Clark University where she received an annual $16,000 scholarship.
• Two students have  applied to UWC (United World Colleges) and been admitted with scholarships.
• One student has  applied to the African Leadership Academy and has been accepted with a $5,000 scholarship. 
• 13 students have participated in the Concourse Global clearing process. 10 students have collectively received a total of 46 admission offers with $272,650 in scholarships.

 

This Is Not the End Of The Journey

Too many schools see their job as developing “smart kids” and focus narrowly on building a student’s knowledge base and academic skills. While that is critically important, Nova Pioneer holds itself accountable to a more holistic “Vision of a Novaneer”: we want to deeply develop our students’ character, capabilities and connection.  We define our success based on a larger set of longer-term goals; we expect our students to excel in exams and attend great universities, build innovations and art, launch new companies, and impact their communities. Ultimately, we want our students to become shapers of a world they envision rather than takers of the world they inherit. 

 

The Future Is In Good Hands

Today, we are again reminded that the mission and vision set out together to achieve as Novaneers, will be felt throughout Africa, and indeed the world, through the impact that our alumni will have as they shape their future around their vision and get ready to take over the world.  We are very proud of all our students and wish them well as they transition into the next stage of their lives.

On March 15 2020, the Kenyan government announced a national school lockdown in response to the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country and this caused some disruption to the Kenyan Academic Calendar. The students were at this time approaching the end of the first time and looking forward to the April holiday.

Six  months later  Grade 4, Class 8 and Form 4 classes re-opened while other classes awaited their start dates. The disruption to on-campus learning resulted in a change in the Kenyan academic calendar. Schools, students and parents were now going to face a new norm with new term dates.

The ministry of Education announced the new term dates late last year (2020) and this was in an effort to cover the remaining 2 terms from 2020 with the aim of stabilising the school calendar by December 2022. The changes to the calendar may be confusing and this post is written with the aim to help understand what these changes look like practically.

 

Concluding the 2020 Academic Calendar

Term 2 began on January 4th, 2021 (which in the past would have been Term 1 for the new academic year) and ended on March 19th, 2021.  Term 3 for the 2020 Academic Calendar will commence on May 10th and will close on July 25th. The 2020 calendar will close out on July 25th

 

Starting the 2021 Academic Calendar

The first  term of the 2021 calendar will commence on the  26th of July 2021 to 1st October,2021 after which the students will break for a 1 week holiday that will transition them to Term 2 which will start on 11th October,2021 to 23rd December,2021 this will be followed by a 10 day holiday and reopen for Term 3 as from 3rd January 2022, to 4th March.

 

Working to restabalise the calendar

Holidays to mark the end of 2021 Calendar will begin March 5th 2022 and end April 24th, 2022.

The KCPE period will begin March 7th 2022 and end March 10th, 2022. Then finally, the KCSE period will begin March 11th  until April 1st, 2022.

We look forward to welcoming students for the new 2021 Academic Year in July. Nova Pioneer is currently still enrolling for grades in both our Primary and Secondary Schools. To apply for Term 1,  click on (link) To begin the enrollment process for the 2021 Academic year beginning in July, please submit your application here (link)

We continue to follow the Government’s directive on COVID 19, to ensure our students and teammates safety while they are at school. (Link COVID preparedness blog)

 

 

Due to popular culture, and all the heartwarming Hollywood Christmas movies that I watched growing up in Kenya, I have become acquainted with American festivities and this also includes Thanksgiving. Historically this is a time that Americans celebrate with family over elaborate meals such as stuffed turkey to commemorate a day back in Fall 1619 when English Pilgrims and Native Americans shared a celebratory meal together in Plymouth Massachusetts. 

 

A controversial holiday

However, according to a few articles that I’ve read, including one in The Daily Targum, the holiday stays as a reminder of the systemic racism that Native Americans continue to face in the United States. 

The conversation around racism in America has been an ongoing one. Recently however, the Black Lives Matter movement went global following the death of George Floyed in March earlier this year (2020). I believe that this one incident in particular United people Globally as there was a spotlight on social race injustices faced by people of colour.

 

Making a global conversation relevant locally

At Nova Pioneer, we also felt the need to be part of this conversation as it is an important one to have. In an effort to bring it closer home to the continent, the focus of our conversations was on scars of systemic racism with the backdrop of colonialism sadly perpetrated, to some degree, by leaders of today.

Being a school network on the mission to develop leaders and innovators will impact the African century, it was paramount for us as a community of teammates and students to contemplate on this pertinent issue.

To that end, Nova Pioneer set up three voluntary contemplation sessions between July and November that addressed our teammates’ understanding of racism in general, unpacking systemic racism and finally taking action against systemic racism by defining an anti racist Novaneer. 

 

A tough but necessary conversation

Being a facilitator in these sessions was not easy – the stories were hard, painful and sobering albeit necessary. The stories bonded me to my teammates like never before. I walked in their shoes. I had a rare and humbling opportunity to get a glimpse of the covert struggle with the daily challenges of systemic racism faced particularly by my South African teammates. 

Understanding the power of privilege due to systemic racism made me grateful for the liberties that I enjoy in my home country. It made me thankful for some of the right steps that the leaders took in independent Kenya in 1963 that many generations such as myself enjoy today.

Now these conversations did not for a fact change the world around me, BUT they ignited a spark. The hushed conversations came to the light. The mistrust and insecurities were raised openly. Minds began to transform as hearts softened. 

 

An important first step

Did we arrive at a complete solution? No, but we chose to start the journey of a thousand steps in the right direction I believe.

For that reason, this Thanksgiving, I chose to be grateful to be part of an organisation that creates a brave space for these conversations. I chose to be grateful to be living in a year where a pandemic has totally changed the trajectory of how education will be delivered for generations to come. As a Nova parent, I chose to be grateful for the sacrifices made by every teacher to continue to deliver world class education despite the personal inconveniences that came with it. 

 

More reasons to be grateful

To top it all I decided to share 12 heart warming quotes from some of my teammates who share their gratitude for the year 2020. To Hope. To Light. To a new Africa. As Wangari Maathai aptly put it,  ‘I will be a hummingbird, I will do the best I can.’

 

Martha Tubei ~ Eldoret Girls 

‘I have deep gratitude to supportive,caring,dedicated and loving teammates who have shown resilience and patience in service delivery through  the stormy sea of COVID _19.’  

 

Phoebe Muthungu ~ Tatu Primary

‘I am grateful that learning never stopped in Nova Pioneer after schools closed down in March. I am also thankful for the fact that it’s been possible for me to keep in close contact with my students despite not being able to see them physically. Virtual learning has added so much value to my learners and I am very proud of what they’ve achieved this year.’  

 

Grace Mukunzi ~ Tatu Girls

‘I am grateful that during the pandemic I had the opportunity to plug into some free courses that Harvard University was offering. The courses were on Adolescent Mental Health during and after a pandemic. The insights have helped me interact better with our students and support them during the transition  back to school. I also had time to do community service : planted some trees at the Ngong  Road Sanctuary, made marvins for an old people’s home.’ 

 

Pascal Ombango  ~ Eldoret Boys

‘I am grateful that I am an employee of this giant organisation called Nova Pioneer. With all that is going around, Nova has continued to overcome the storms of the pandemic and I am personally grateful because Nova continues to believe in my contributions as an employee and it’s because of that that I am able to put food on the table for my family.’ 

 

Sammy Kegode ~ Global Brand Team

‘During this period and the whole working-from-home situation, I am extremely grateful for the effort that my wife continually puts in making our home a “home.” If it was only up to me there would not be nearly as much love, warmth, laughter, tension-and-release moments😅, visits, appliances😂, freshness, vegetables, and sufurias at home as there are now.’ 

 

Victor Kwambai ~ Operations Team

‘Despite the corona pandemic, I have appreciated the quality time that I have spent with my family and God which has resulted in better communication, spiritual growth and good mental health. Also, in terms of money management, I have learnt to do cost control, reduction of wastage and unnecessary spend.’ 

 

Robert Omondi ~ External Relations Team

‘I am thankful for a community of friends who have turned to family. My idea of what home and family means has evolved over the years and it now encompasses all the people who I share a blood genotype with and those who have been kind and gracious enough to let me stand on their shoulders during the most trying times.’ 

Benard Ongwae ~ Tatu Boys

‘ Inasmuch as the pandemic period has been a period of stagnation to the majority of us, I am grateful that I have been able to make some significant growth. The opportunity to shift to work online, accorded to me by Nova Pioneer, has made me appreciate what solutions technology can offer to the universe, in such difficult times. The belief my manager had in me kept me going, and made me conquer a few more territories. The opportunities and support that the teammates I work with directly, accorded me another great opportunity of growth. I am forever grateful to the Nova Pioneer family.’ 

 

Karl Machado ~ Transport Team

‘It’s been 3years now since I joined the Nova family and what a joy it has been. I am especially grateful for the countless learning opportunities that I have received in those 3 years which have not only helped me grow in my career but also as an individual. The Nova Culture principles have guided,moulded and sharpened me professionally and personally and I pray for more and better days ahead.’

 

Bella Egessa ~ Brand and Admissions Team

‘I am grateful for my family. It has been an emotionally challenging year for everyone but what has been keeping me sane and sparking joy in my life is the random Whatsapp group calls with my siblings. We could literally be speaking about nothing but that’s all I need to put a smile on my face again. We have bonded so much this year because we have the gift of time which is something I’m also grateful for, time to reconnect, rejuvenate and realign with my purpose.’ 

 

Anne Marende ~ Athi River Primary

‘First and foremost,I am grateful to God for protecting me up to this far. All thanks also goes to all Novaneer teammates, parents and my family members for the support, love, comfort, guidance throughout the year. Be blessed.’ 

 

Emmanuel Kamau ~ Global Fee Support Team

‘Like most of us, COVID-19 made me more grateful for having good health. I am grateful for working from home which enabled me to build self-discipline and as a result, I have been able to achieve more than I would have in a normal year. It also enabled me to spend more time with my family since I could work from anywhere.  I am also grateful that I was able to form new friendships and connections with my South African teammates as we worked together to ensure that Nova Pioneer continued to serve our families with excellence.’ 

They say, life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but it’s about learning to dance in the rain. Indeed the Covid-19 pandemic has made us Novaneers do exactly that… DANCE! On 18 September 2020, Nova Pioneer Kenya held its Term Two virtual One Team Day where close to 300 teammates participated in an engaging Movie Themed hour and a half session full of fun, games and laughs.

One Team Day is one of our culture touch points that brings together all teammates across our 6 campuses in Kenya to celebrate the end of term. It is a day filled with gratitude and reflection of the Term gone by and we dedicate time to celebrate our teammates’ contributions big and  small.

We always celebrate our Culture Heros – teammates who live out our culture and this term our Heros for Joy of Learning and Always Growing were crowned. 

At Nova Pioneer we believe in placing our people first and now even more as we continue to settle into remote working. Our teammates’ wellbeing matters to us and we continue to make deliberate efforts to stay connected while having fun!

Read on to hear what some of our Novaneers had to say about One Team Day:

‘Talk of preparation, teams ‘arriving’ in style, full of enthusiasm and ready to win! Saying it was fun would be a huge understatement. From the cool MCs, to hilarious polls on Zoom to making a trailer of how our quarantine was like…And guess what? This all happened online! Who could have thought one can have so much fun virtually? Indeed, necessity is the mother of invention!’ Salome Akali, Pre Primary Teacher, Tatu Primary

‘This was my very first time attending the One Team Day (OTD) event at Nova Pioneer. All I knew  was that I was to wear a hat and sunglasses for the event as instructed through email. I was anxious and  looking forward  to experiencing this event being barely two days old in the organisation!

I was impressed at how different groups showed up rocking their movie themes and the high levels of interaction filled with appreciation, fun,  laughter and excitement. We played so many different games online and it was just an amazing experience.Indeed work without play makes jack a dull boy.’ 

 

Nova Pioneer exists to thoroughly reimagine school and deliver a world-class learning experience to tens of thousands of students across the continent. Our learning experience is based on three core beliefs that guide our learning experience.

 

Traditional learning methods don’t inspire

Too often, in too many places around the globe, school isn’t exciting for children. There are few greater tragedies when institutions that should be igniting our dreams and turning us into lifelong learners instead leave students feeling bored, disempowered, inadequate, and underprepared. So the question is, how can schools deliver great teaching and how can we inspire students to enjoy their learning experience?

Below are Nova Pioneer’s core beliefs for great teaching and learning:

 

Replacing rote learning with enquiry-based learning

Instead of just memorizing and regurgitating lots of content, we believe that students should learn by asking questions, creating things, experiencing the joy of discovery, practicing with peers, and getting tons of feedback. We are not building schools full of classrooms where teachers lecture and students furiously take notes. We put students at the center of their own curiosity-fueled learning.

 

Developing the whole child

Too many schools see their job as developing “smart kids” and focus narrowly on building a student’s knowledge base and academic skills. While that is critically important, we hold ourselves accountable to a more holistic “Vision of a Novaneer”: we want to deeply develop our students’ character, capabilities and connection. Learn more about our “Vision of a Novaneer” 

 

We have used coaching groups, leadership class, innovation block, and other experiences to provide students the time and space to explore issues, passions and struggles outside the traditional classroom experience. 

 

Readiness for life beyond exams

Traditionally schools see their job as—and measures their success based on—students’ exam performance. We define our success based on a larger set of longer-term goals; we expect our students to excel in exams and attend great universities, build innovations and art, launch new companies, and impact their communities.

Ultimately, we want our students to become shapers of a world they envision rather than takers of the world they inherit. To this end, we will engage with our students long after graduation, learning from the struggles that our early alumni encounter and using those lessons to help better prepare our current students.

 

Closely tied to these core beliefs are strong convictions we hold about both students and teachers. Our impact begins with these mindsets. It is critical that you embrace these visions of students and teachers, regardless of your role at Nova Pioneer.

 

Students

We believe our students have boundless potential and are capable of much more at a much earlier age than most people think. We therefore hold them to the highest expectations. We encourage them to take risks. We challenge them to reimagine school and be part of their learning experience. We give them constant feedback. Yet when things go wrong  we don’t blame them: if students are not learning enough, we take responsibility and work to find solutions to better support them. We see young people as fundamentally capable—capable of impacting communities, of impacting others, and of producing excellent work. 

 

Teachers

Our teachers are not there to lecture and to dump knowledge on students. We ask our teachers to release control so students are doing the lion’s share of the thinking and talking, putting them in the driver’s seat of their own learning. When you walk into a great Nova Pioneer classroom, you will see order, but you won’t see the teacher dominating.

Students will be passionately discussing a topic, collaborating on small group work, and actively and eagerly participating. The teacher will be inspiring curiosity, asking probing questions, and challenging students’ thinking—all the while coaching and giving feedback. And you will see a classroom culture that reinforces great learning: the powerful mix of joy, highest expectations, and safety that encourages students to take risks and push themselves.

 

Novaneers develop the deep, unshakable knowledge that they are fundamentally capable of learning and growing in anything they dedicate themselves to. This knowledge is a greater resource than any exam result and prepares our graduates to be optimistic, self-assured innovators and leaders throughout their lives.

A distinguishing feature of Nova Pioneer can be seen in how we make the learning student-centred, to encourage student voice and critical thinking, and to encourage collaboration amongst students. This is evident in our enquiry-based method of teaching, as well as in the physical spaces in which this learning occurs.  

The school’s academic team works very closely with the Nova Pioneer Property Company in defining how the schools look and feel. The continuous collaboration between the two ensures that the buildings helps facilitate the learning process for every Novaneer.

 

Space for Free Play 

We are intentional about creating the kind of space that encourages collaboration between students and allows for rich exploration through free play. 

Free play is unstructured, voluntary, child-initiated activity that allows children to develop their imaginations while exploring and experiencing the world around them. 

It is the spontaneous play that comes from children’s natural curiosity, love of discovery, and enthusiasm.

 

Light and Space

We believe in transparency in everything that we do. This is represented in the design of our buildings through the use of a lot of glass to further reinforce this. We utilise natural lighting techniques in our design of the classrooms. This not only saves on energy but it also creates a productive and joyful atmosphere for our students.

 

Learning on the playground

The facilities and playground are also considered as part of the school’s learning experience.

Sensory playgrounds integrate fun and engaging playground equipment that all children can enjoy, and provides an interactive environment that facilitates a physical, social and sensory experience that everyone can share together.

A sensory playground is one that contains playground equipment/elements that stimulate one of the seven senses – touch, movement, smell, taste, sight, hearing and balance.

As a parent you may be wondering what it is that differentiates us from other schools? Perhaps you’re wondering what the inside of a Nova Pioneer classroom really looks like?

Learning looks and feels a little bit different at Nova Pioneer. From how the classrooms are designed, to the language our students and teachers use in the classroom and even down to the behaviours our students exemplify. The purpose is to create a responsive classroom where the child is at the centre of learning.

 

There are four key domains to achieving a responsive classroom

1. Engaging Academics: Learner-centered lessons that are participatory, appropriately challenging, fun, and relevant and promote curiosity, wonder, and interest.
2. Positive Community: A safe, predictable, joyful, and inclusive environment where all students have a sense of belonging and significance.
3. Effective Management: A calm and orderly learning environment that promotes autonomy, responsibility, and high engagement in learning.
4. Developmentally Responsive Teaching: Basing all decisions for teaching and discipline upon research and knowledge of students’ social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.

 

How does our desk setup encourage collaboration?

Desks are arranged in centres, distributing an equal number of students across these centres. Each centre allows students to engage in the content being taught in different ways – whether in a group activity or whether in an individual capacity. Centres give the students the opportunity to learn to work collaboratively with others but also build the skills necessary to be able to work individually.

 

How do our classrooms strengthen our students visual learning skills?

All classrooms are fitted with projectors and speakers for lesson delivery, presentations and developing the students’ digital literacy. Concepts are explained and simplified by the teacher and instructions given on the classroom whiteboard. The use of multimedia in our classrooms helps with the visual learning process, strengthening our students visual learning skills.

 

How do we incorporate technology in the classroom?

Technology is a big part of who we are as Nova Pioneer and what we do, and we blend this into our students learning experiences. We makes use of Blended Learning as part of our teaching.

Students make use of Tablets during their rotations during lessons. Technology is also offered as part of the innovative space. Our students start coding and robotics from Grade R.

 

 

 

We started Nova Pioneer to provide schools that were different: schools to develop young people with the wherewithal to shape their world.  That’s why we call ourselves Schools for Innovators and Leaders. That intention is all centered on our vision of a Novaneer.

 

The Vision of a Novaneer

That intention is all centered on our vision of a Novaneer as a young person with strong character (founded on our 6 Culture Principles), distinctive capabilities (academic mastery & collaborative problem solving), and deep connection (to their communities and with each other).  Our intention is to develop generations of these young shapers all across Africa.

To deliver on that vision we have a distinctive approach to learning and teaching that we describe as rigorous enquiry-based learning.  This approach requires a commitment to collaborative instructional learning and leadership from our faculty, and is supported by a dedicated learning design team.  Underpinning that distinctive practice is a focus on developing deliberate people and culture systems, in line with our culture principles and with our model of instructional leadership development.  

 

 

Building Character

We believe that our students’ success will be powered by their strength of character, as defined and reinforced by our 6 Culture Principles. We see our culture principles and our focus on leadership shining through classrooms and schools. 

We use our morning meetings in Primary School to discuss specific culture principles, what they look like and how they shape our behaviours.  We see these principles play out on a day-to-day basis including our servant leaders who are assigned or selected across campuses to help from Open Days to running grade 8 Orientations, to student arrival days in our boarding schools being run by upperclassmen and women. 

Every conversation with a child is rooted in the celebration, unpacking and reflection of our culture principles, we believe, helps shape the character of our young navaneers as they go out into the world.

We have defined leadership here at Nova Pioneer as personal leadership:  our capacity to know, understand and manage ourselves.  We are invested in learning about leaders in our community, continent and beyond and how they have shaped our world.  Lastly we unpack servant leadership, which we define as serve in meeting the needs of our community, be it our classroom, our school or beyond.

 

Distinctive Capabilities

When we are discussing capabilities, we mean that our schools are places where learners can develop the soft skills outlined in the work we do to build character, and they have the 21st century skills of problem solving, collaboration and critical thinking.

Additionally, and critically, they are able to demonstrate the academic mastery that they will need to be successful beyond Nova Pioneer. 

We look at, and track, academic mastery in two ways:  (1) growth over time to demonstrate our value added/impact on students and absolute achievement–meaning the performance of students on given exams at a singular point in time; (2) we do not assess for both in every grade and subject, but we try to be strategic to get a holistic picture of the academic mastery of our students over time.  

 

Deep Connections

We define connection as the opportunity for our Novaneers to build community  both within their classrooms during the school day, and beyond our classrooms in the greater world.  We plan for connection in our school day through group work and rotations, which are research-based methods for instruction that support deep learning for students. These practices also give students an opportunity to continue to build connection and relationships within their classroom communities.

We continue to be excited about the work of our Post School Success (PSS )team, who not only work with students to explore their paths after Nova Pioneer, but in the work that they are doing to connect students to the greater world while they are still with us.  Some of the work the PSS team supports includes organising internships and job shadows for students, academic support programming during holiday breaks, a speaker series, and an Alumni engagement and connection plan – setting up systems that will allow our graduates to continue to be connected to one another once they leave our walls.

You are part of a community

We currently operate 13 wonderful schools across East and South Africa, serving students from infancy through the end of secondary school.  Guided by our mission, our future intention is to continue to grow and serve students and families all across Africa. As a Nova Pioneer parent, you are part of this story.