Selecting the best curriculum for your child’s education is a significant decision that shapes their academic journey and future opportunities. With so many options available; such as traditional, Montessori, Waldorf, International Baccalaureate (IB), and Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), parents are often left wondering which path to choose for their child(ren).

Key considerations 

When choosing a curriculum, parents should consider their child’s learning style, interests, and long-term goals. The flexibility of the curriculum, the focus on critical thinking and creativity, and how well it prepares students for future education are all important aspects to weigh. Additionally, the alignment of the curriculum with your family’s values and educational philosophy plays a crucial role.

Understanding Curriculum Differences

Different curricula offer unique approaches to learning. Traditional curricula focus on standardized content and exams, while Montessori and Waldorf emphasize hands-on, child-centered learning. IB is globally recognized for its rigorous, inquiry-based approach, preparing students for university-level work. Meanwhile, CBC, which is gaining traction in Kenya, emphasizes the development of specific competencies and skills rather than rote memorization.

Skills Development in CBC and International Curricula

CBC aims to develop practical skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. These competencies are designed to prepare students for real-world challenges, making learning more relevant and applicable. In contrast, international curricula like IB focus on holistic education, encouraging students to explore subjects deeply and engage in independent research, fostering a global perspective.

As CBC continues to roll out across Kenya, it is set to transform the educational landscape by prioritizing skills and competencies over traditional content delivery. This shift is expected to create a more adaptable and innovative generation of learners, better equipped to meet the demands of the modern world.

To learn more, watch the Find Your Nova Podcast as Carol Gitobu (Senior Market Engagement Manager – GSMA),  Dr Lawrence Nderu (Chair – Dept. of Computing JKUAT) and Peninah Ivy Muthoni (Curriculum Design expert), discuss the intricacies of educational choices and their impact on students’ futures, offering expert insights to help you navigate this important decision. Watch now and leave a comment!

Are you interested to learn more about Nova Pioneer? Sign up via this link to attend a Campus Experience.

 

Guiding Our Students Towards Finding Their Nova

Transitioning from High School can be a thrilling yet challenging journey. As students step out of their familiar routines, they encounter a world filled with endless opportunities and new responsibilities. As a parent, you may wonder, ‘How can my child be best prepared for this critical transition?’ At Nova Pioneer we offer a Post-School Success Programme (PSS) that provides our students with exposure to diverse post-secondary opportunities and supports them in identifying the best-fit opportunities to pursue in alignment with their life goals after graduating. The PSS programme empowers our students to take charge of their post-school exploration and planning, with the support of their parents/guardians and Nova Pioneer’s post-school success experts throughout this process.

How does the PSS Team provide support to our students across Nova Pioneer Schools? 

• University partnerships

Our Class of 2023 received over $7,000,000 in scholarships from universities in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, and the United States of America (U.S.A). We support our students to submit quality and competitive student profiles and essays to attract university and college recruiters. We organize school visits by University and College representatives to offer information sessions to our students and enhance their University and course selection options. Our students also attend campus tours to selected universities to give them a glimpse of University life and the resources available. 

• Career Guidance 

We help our students to identify their interests and potential career paths by providing opportunities that allow for job shadowing and internships in leading organizations in Kenya that enable them to gain hands-on experience and apply what they have learned in class to a real-world scenario. 

• Skills Development

From resume writing to interview techniques, our sessions equip students with practical skills essential to them expressing themselves for real-world success. 

The PSS Team is there to guide students toward making the best decision that is aligned with their passion and desire for the future.

What are some of the many options after high school?

• Enrolling in a university directly after graduating (having applied in Form 4).
• Enrolling in a Technical and Vocational Education and Training institute to start training immediately for a chosen career.
• Taking a ‘gap’ year to polish the academic record, start a venture, or explore a passion before applying to and entering university.
• Pursuing practical training or work to gain practical experience before entering university.
• Starting on a career track by entering the workforce immediately.

 

Celebrating Our Class of 2023 PSS Programme

Nova Pioneer Eldoret Boys

Nova Pioneer Eldoret Girls

Nova Pioneer Tatu City Boys

Nova Pioneer Tatu City Girls

We proudly celebrate the achievements of our alumni who have grown into capable individuals ready to take on the world. To parents, educators, and community supporters, together we can build a future where every young person has the opportunity to succeed. 

To learn more about our Post School Success Programme, fill out this form to meet our students and team at our next Campus Experience event.

For years, we have seen you, our teammates, refer excellent families to Nova Pioneer schools in Kenya and we say Asante Sana! Over the past three years, family referrals from teammates have accounted for over 12% of our new applications, and through these referrals, we have seen the Nova Pioneer community grow. 

As a way of showing our appreciation, we are launching the Family Referral Programme for Teammates. This programme allows you to get a voucher reward when a parent that you have referred to Nova Pioneer, commits and enrols their child at one of our Nova Pioneer schools in Kenya. 

 

How Our Referral Discount Works

 

Which Teammates are Eligible for the Reward?

In order to successfully enrol a student, the parent you refer must state that they were referred to Nova Pioneer by you (your first name and surname), when they fill in the online application form in the ‘How did you hear about us’ section on our website. 

• On the application, there is a section marked ‘How did you hear about us?*’ as shown in the image below. This section must be responded to.

• Under the ‘How did you hear about us?*’ section, the applicant must select ‘Nova Pioneer Representative/Staff’ as illustrated in the image below.

 

• Once the referred applicant has selected the ‘Nova Pioneer representative/Staff’ option, they must put down the name of the teammate who referred them, as shown in the image below, to make the application a successful teammate referral that will result in a reward post student’s successful enrolment.

 

Confirmed enrolment at Nova Pioneer for the referred family will be subject to all admissions requirements being met. We draw your attention to the following specific requirements:

• Space availability in the requested grade.
• A successful entry assessment to establish grade readiness.

Referred students or parents cannot have a sibling or child currently or have been previously enroled at Nova Pioneer. 

There is no limit to the number of students a teammate can refer. You will be entitled to one voucher per referral who successfully enrols.

This referral programme is only open to current Nova Pioneer teammates at the time when they refer new parents, who then successfully enrol their child(ren) at Nova Pioneer.

Teammates who are part of the Marketing team and Leadership are not eligible for this incentive.

 

What If A Parent Wants To Be Contacted Before Making An Application?

 

If a parent wishes to first speak to an admissions teammate before making an official application on our website application page, please share their contact information on this form and an admissions teammate will reach out to the prospective parent. We shall track this parent as a referral from you and you will be eligible for the successful referral reward once the student(s) successfully enrol.

 

How To Refer

 

1. A current and referring teammate talks to a friend and tells them about Nova Pioneer.
2. The prospective parent completes an online application form and in the ‘How did you hear about us’ section, they select ‘referred by a current parent’ and write the full name of the teammate who referred them.
3. Once the referred parent completes the enrolment process and pays grade-relevant fees for their first term at Nova Pioneer and they report for the school term, the referral is flagged and the Marketing team works closely with the  Finance team to make available the incentive voucher.

 

The impact of the Family Referral programme extends to our culture of Greater Together. We thank you for the collaboration and support as we continue to welcome new Novaneers to our community. 

*Terms and conditions apply

 

Nova Pioneer encourages parents’ involvement in their child’s education. We organize parent teacher conferences and academic days for parents to find out how students are doing academically and socially. These meet-ups trigger deep conversations regarding the wellness of students in school. 

Research has shown that having parents involved in school has a very positive impact on a child’s education. The Harvard Family Research Project concluded that parental involvement is associated with higher student achievement.

Here are 5 reasons why you should get involved in your child’s education.

Higher Grades; Students whose parents are involved in their education, tend to record an upward trajectory in academics.

Better behavior; Students develop better social skills when parents are involved in school. They are less likely to skip school, less disruptive in class and are more likely to complete homework. The students are less likely to be suspended, expelled or expected to repeat a grade.

Improved Education; Parent involvement in schools directly impacts quality of schools, teachers morale, and improves a schools reputation in the community.

Increased Confidence; When students feel supported both at home and in school, they develop more positive attitude about school, have more confidence and place a high value on academic achievement. 

Parents benefit too; When parents are involved in their children’s education, they become more comfortable with the school,  gain confidence in their parenting skills, and feel more capable of helping their children learn. They are also more likely to continue their own education.

Parents’ involvement in their children’s education always pays off.

Enrollments for 2023 are currently ongoing in all our day and boarding schools. Click here to submit an application for your child.

Would you buy a car without test driving it first? Probably not! Nova Pioneer believes that an important part of choosing the right school for your child should include checking out the facilities, meeting the school leadership and understanding what students experience in and outside of the classroom. A Campus Experience at Nova Pioneer provides a unique and interactive way  for parents to experience Nova Pioneer’s learning model  that differentiates us from other schools. It also provides a convenient opportunity for your child to complete  our internal in-person assessment.

Attending a Campus Experience gives you a chance to receive an early admission for your child.

Early Admissions are beneficial in the following ways;

 

Njaanuary? Plan Ahead!

The January back-to-school hustle is one to dread.  Long queues at supermarkets, textbook centers and uniform shops, not to forget the hiked prices of items. Securing an early admission for your child will give you ample time to plan your resources, saving you time and money.

 

Helps Student Prepare for K.C.P.E

The assessment process at Nova Pioneer  is an important learning opportunity for Class 8 candidates. The Interview provides students with an experience of what to expect in K.C.P.E giving them confidence to sit for the main exam.

 

Spots at Nova Pioneer are Limited

Nova Pioneer’s unique learning approach includes an inquiry-based-learning model that results in stronger intellectual ability and character than the traditional lecture-based education learning approach.  Spots are therefore very competitive and limited.  Our spots are offered on a first-come-first-serve basis. Securing an early admission by attending a campus experience, keeps you ahead of the competition.

Click here to Join us on our next Campus Experience. 

At Nova Pioneer we live and learn by our six culture principles.Our culture is the most important element of our work at Nova Pioneer. Our culture drives the learning and character development of our students and it enables our team to work together to achieve exceptional results. 

Our culture principles are;

Joy of Learning ; We delight in learning and bring infectious energy and positive spirit to everything we do because joy fuels learning and hardwork

High Expectations ; We set goals that others think are impossible and never stop until we achieve them.

Always Growing ; We constantly seek out difficult challenges , share and receive feedback as a gift and see every failure as an opportunity to grow.

Solutions First ; We respond to every obstacle with action and always bring solutions to problems

Servant Leadership ; We believe great leaders are great servants, and put service to  others before service to self.

Greater Together ; We collaborate with and support our colleagues and students because we can achieve more together.

This year’s mashujaa day, We celebrate our culture heroes. These are teammates who have demonstrated, Always growing, High Expectations and Joy of learning in an extraordinary way. 

Shouts to Griffin, Stella and Elvis!!

Visit our website today to learn more about Nova Pioneer.

 

 

 

At Nova Pioneer we believe that the objective of discipline is to encourage awareness, and that discipline, rather than punishment, should focus on inclusive methods of communication, reinforcement, and modelling. Above all, we want to create a warm and supportive environment in which children can grow, learn, and learn to love learning. A case in point, Nova Pioneer Ormonde refers to an affirmation mirror, which our young Novaneers use to modulate and learn about their emotions. They make affirmations by looking in the mirror and expressing something positive about oneself; it does not have to be physical characteristics, but it might be something about their personality, for example, “ I am intelligent” or “I am kind”.

According to Nova Pioneer pre-primary senior resident teacher, Asmaa Khan, “When we encounter challenging behaviour, we must establish why, what the child is attempting to communicate, and how we may assist the child. Our role as adults is to assist the child in communicating their feelings and guiding the child toward a constructive resolution of the problem.”

In situations like these, Nova Pioneer teachers are trained to take a supportive rather than punitive approach-to build strong bonds of trust so that our Novaneers develop a sense of accountability from early childhood. Understanding the impact of one’s actions (positive or negative) is an important part of early childhood development. The Reggio Emilia approach which our curriculum is founded on facilitates this level of consciousness. 

Our teachers (all of whom are required to be certified) are able to encourage positive conduct by rewarding good behaviour using our positive reinforcement model. This stems from an understanding that our students have a constant need for validation, and that “misbehaviour” is a cry for attention, so when “misbehaviour” occurs, it is also important to reflect on what we as caregivers are not adequately providing. (This applies at home as well!). The positive reinforcement model is heavily reliant on communication and consistency-verbal or physical rewards for appropriate and responsible behaviour create an appreciation for appropriate and responsible behaviour and an awareness of the opposite.

We value the relationship that we have with our parents. Teachers and caregivers are encouraged to develop relationships with Novaneer parents through day-to-day engagements during drop-off and pick-up times as well as staying accessible to parents when needed. This collaborative relationship also assists in ensuring that the home and school environment is helping our Novaneers get the best out of themselves and behaviours that could be harmful (or good) are monitored and handled accordingly. 

Nova Pioneer strives to create a community that continues with our learners from the start of their school career until they graduate. Our school philosophy is developed to ensure the success of every child who passes through our doors; we want them to be major actors in any setting they inhabit during and after their time at Nova Pioneer. (As we say, once a Novaneer, always a Novaneer!). 

Click here to read more about our Post School Success programme.

Enrollments for Grade 7 and Form 1 2023 are currently ongoing. Click here to apply for your child.

 

Novaneers are well known for their commitment to the Nova Pioneer Culture principles. Our Students refer to the 6 culture principles as a way of life.

One of our students at Nova Pioneer Tatu boys campus, Abdilahi Ali, founded the Tumaini Pioneer club based on the culture principle of servant leadership. The club aims at giving back to the community within and outside the school. 

 

The club has been conducting various donation drives within the school.

On 30th July, the club organized a marathon where teachers, students and parents participated. The marathon was a great success as the club managed to raise resources such as; Dry foods, sanitary towels, clothes, Books, stationery and toiletries.

 

All the resources collected will be channeled to support school going- children in Samburu. The club members will be visiting Reten Primary school and Lalaingok Primary Schools in Samburu on the 17th and 18th September to complete their mission.

To continue with the club’s objective, Donation drives will be running throughout the year to enable the club to reach out to more members of the community.