Considering the rapid rise and developments in technology and the introduction of the 4th industrial revolution, it is safe to say, the world will surely be a different place in the future. We will see a lot more automation of some systems, advancements in machine learning and integration of robotics in our daily lives. Which opens the question, what are we doing today as an educational institution to prepare our kids for that future? 

 

Robotics is the intersection of science, engineering and technology that produces machines (7STEM), called robots, that are either a substitute (or replication) for human actions. This could be anything from industrial robots, domestic or household machines or even robots/machines designed for social interactions such as automated food ordering machines, etc.

 

At Nova Pioneer we pride ourselves to be one of the few 21st-century schools that are incorporating Robotics in our day-to-day learning experience. As part of developing students who are future leaders and innovators, it is important that we move with the times and be future-focused by developing a learning experience that will allow our students to be solutions-driven.

 

Coding and robotics go hand-in-hand, and they’re becoming a more integral part of classrooms across the country  Aside from the excitement students muster when they see a robotics kit or a tiny programmable vehicle, coding and robotics offer a little bit more than a fun classroom experience.

 

When our students participate in coding and robotics activities, they’re learning fundamental skills such as teamwork and collaboration, problem-solving, the ability to fail forward, persistence and more. The world has evolved and if you don’t move with the times you may end up being redundant, irrelevant and insignificant in society.

 

Nova Pioneer continues to live up to its promise by introducing additional grades throughout our campuses. As a group, we made a promise to our parents and students that each year, we will grow our schools with an additional grade, to grow with our Novaneers as they progress to their next academic level. This year, we have continued to deliver on that promise. Nova Pioneer Education Group is a Pan-African independent school network, that builds and operates world-class, affordable education, offering students grades from preschool through to secondary. 

 

Here is a list of new grade offerings at our campuses:

 

Midrand – Currently accepting enrollments from Grade 000 to Grade 7 for in-year and now introducing our first Secondary Grade 8 class for the year 2022. 

North Riding – Currently accepting enrollments for Grade 000 to Grade 6 for in-year and we have now introduced Grade 7 enrollments for the year 2022. 

Paulshof – Currently accepting enrollments for Tots to Grade 6 for in-year and we have now introduced Grade 7 enrollments for the year 2022. 

 

Ruimsig – Currently accepting enrollments for Grade 000 to Grade 3 for in-year and we have now introduced Grade 4 for the year 2022. 

Boksburg – Currently accepting enrollments for Babies (3 months) to Grade 5 for in-year and we have now introduced Grade 6 for the year 2022.  

 

As an education brand, we take pride in being a leader in innovation that disrupts the education landscape positively. We offer the internationally recognized Cambridge curriculum from pre-primary to secondary school through our Reggio Emilia Enquiry based Learning Model. Our offering includes a blended learning method that combines academic education, physical education, play learning, SEL (Social and Emotional Learning), coding and robotics to provide our students with a holistic education to prepare them for the future. Nova Pioneer is currently operational in both South Africa and Kenya.

I’ve been mentally journalling these thoughts for months since I started at Nova Pioneer on the 5th of September 2019. Coming here with a vast IT background, I have to admit that having worked as an IT Technician at a prestigious school in Parktown, I strongly believed I had an advantage in the IT/school environment.

 

I Was Wrong

 

I was wrong in thinking Nova Pioneer was like any other school. Yes, they have classes, teachers, sporting facilities – all that the Department of Education would require for a schooling environment – but what I’ve never experienced is the heart Nova Pioneer possesses.

My personal experience of schooling is a conflation of good and bad. Straight A student succumbing to mental issues, the principal office visits, ranging from worrying because of dropping my academic standard due to the aforementioned issues and pride in sporting victories. My schooling was a mixture of memorable lessons and ‘wish to be forgotten’ corridor incidents.

Nova Pioneer taught me, that all involved, have a passion beyond their job description. They are not looking to conveyor belt a thousand Einsteins but holistically wholesome innovators. They are not looking to funnel future Bill Gates but persons that connect with and for the world.

I’ve had the pleasure of being IT Coordinator for two campuses, North Riding and Ruimsig, and in both, there’s a noticeable difference but mammoth similarities.

 

Joy of Learning is two-ways

 

The kids are orderly, not military wise, but instruction is rather imparted than enforced. The gentleness is abundant but not spoilt or coddled. The teachings are adequate as they are challenging. The respect is palpable as it fills corridors and bounces off the visuals carefully and neatly plastered on the glass doors. The joy of learning is two-ways, teachers love to impart knowledge on eager minds and the students are attentive and visibly engaged. The trust is seamless, although earned over time, it is a marvel to watch.

Interacting with the students is proof of what the teachers and the whole Nova Pioneer institution are instilling in these young minds. Respect first, listen always, learn of self and others, freedom to be self, responsibility and accountability are imperative and have fun.

I am forever shell-shocked at how these children’s faces light up when they walk in through the entry gate, how, when they are sad they won’t shy away, but effectively communicate their feelings with no fear of possible repercussions for being honest, how they manage to get me smiling when they tell me about a new dog they have; it’s the humanity Nova Pioneer sprinkles on each child as they wear the blue and stride proudly into the premises.

I am always in awe of the teachers and staff of Nova Pioneer from the perspective of someone who adores children (and they adore me back, even calling me Uncle Siphiwe). Being someone who wishes for a child someday, it’s invigorating knowing that Nova Pioneer has the capabilities, the structure and enough kindness to be a core foundation for any child to not only dream big but also understand and learn to be a compassionate, empathic human because that’s what the world needs.

I was wrong about Nova Pioneer being just another school. Nova Pioneer is an institution, whose emphasis on learning is to be different, respectful, courteous, smart, innovative and most importantly, being human.

 

 

We are fast approaching the season of giving. Our children are precious to us and we often give them gifts that delight them in the moment but have little positive impact on their future.

Upon reflection, I considered the fact that at least 16 years of my children’s lives will be spent at school and thus the most profound and impactful gift I could give them, is that of an educational environment that builds character and a solid foundation of skills.

The African Century needs our children to show up unlike any other in history! The future will be filled with unprecedented and unimaginable circumstances that will require our children to rely on skills that have been fostered throughout their 16 years of basic education. 

The Nova Pioneer approach to education checks this box for me. Teachers provide children with the knowledge required but the focus is on the children’s ability to process the knowledge. Skills such as investigative thinking processes, innovating alternative solutions, empowering their voice to test the status quo and exploring topics from different angles.

I believe these are some of the skills that will propel our children to succeed in a world where knowledge is ever-evolving. I am resolute, now more than ever, I want to give them the best gift, the gift of a great education and rich skillset, the gift of a good future.

School closures in 2020 caused some disruptions for all schools and particularly for the students. In a normal school year, we are able to observe the growth of a students on a day-to-day basis and not only based on the work produced but also by observing how they engage with the content in a classroom, and with peers.

In a normal year, we are also able to take the MAP assessment three times a year– at the start of the year to determine a baseline and set our growth goals, the middle of the year to gauge our progress and the end of the year to see how we did.   

Of course, 2020 was anything but a normal year, and therefore how we’ve decided to use MAP to drive student learning has had to shift.  

First, some background.

 

What is MAP?

 

MAP, or the Measure of Academic Progress assessments, are a suite of educational tools developed by a US-based company, NWEA, and currently in use in around 145 countries worldwide. Since the year 2000, NWEA has offered a comprehensive set of web-based tests to aged Grade R-12 learners.  These assessments are skill-based, and curriculum agnostic, which is critical as 145 countries are using the tool and each may have differing curricula.  

 

 

Growth Focused Assessment:

 

At its core, MAP is a computer-based, adaptive test, with each student being presented with a unique set of questions based on how they respond to prior questions.  The assessment is focused on measuring growth over time.  As such, learners take an assessment at the beginning of the year, in the middle of the year, and the end of the year.  MAP software is able to determine growth goals based on the initial assessment and then measure progress.  For our internal purposes, we are able to measure the growth of students over time, allowing us to see what impact we are having and how we, as an organisation, can continue to improve.  

 

 

Global Benchmark

 

Over the past 20 years, NWEA has been refining their assessment tools, as well as collecting data across the globe that allows them to predict what academic growth should look like in schools.  Nova Pioneer’s decision to use MAP was due, in part, to the length of time NWEA has been refining the assessment, the fact that learners can take the assessment online allowing us easier administration across South Africa and Kenya, and the wealth of data we can use to compare our performance against 145 other countries.  Ultimately, like Nova Pioneer, MAP shares our deep commitment in measuring the growth of children, not just their endpoint.  

 

Why MAP?

Our shared mission as Nova Pioneer is to build a network of high-quality schools across the continent that are fostering the next generation of innovators and leaders.  We currently operate 13 schools across South Africa and Kenya, and central to our work is using global best practices to build a coherent and powerful curriculum.  In our primary schools, in addition to being grounded in the Cambridge Standards, we also use leading world programming, like Singapore Maths, to further deepen learning and competency building in our students.

Another core component of our vision is in making sure that all students grow academically while they are with us.  This growth is measured in a number of ways, including termly assessment, verbal communication, written communication, portfolios, reading growth assessments, etc.  We seek to have multiple points of contact in what and how students are learning so that we can continue to support their accelerated and meaningful growth.  A key part of that constellation of assessments that allow us to get a picture of how students are doing is an assessment called MAP.   

 

How will we be able to use MAP in 2020 and beyond?

 

We are excited to collect the MAP data this year, not so much to assess beginning to end of year growth (although it will help us determine that), but rather to get clearer on the ways in which we can best support student growth and achievement in 2021 and beyond.

We are seeing data from all around the world that the interruption to schooling will have created learning gaps for learners around the globe.  At Nova Pioneer, we have seen the extraordinary efforts of our families, central learning design team, teachers and school leaders come together to make sure that learners had as much normalcy and support in their learning during COVID 19.  

We are confident that the measures that we have put in place to support teaching and learning during school closure, and then the staggered return to school, have supported our learners in moving forward with their curriculum coverage and skill-building.  

However, we do not doubt that the interruptions will have caused gaps in skills that we would be able to address more meaningfully had students been in school as in a normal year.  

To that end, we are excited to administer and then dive into the MAP data that this end of year assessment will generate for every child. Each teacher will be able to get a report outlining the concepts and skills that each learner has mastered and the ones that they will need more support for in the 2021 school year.  

We will be able to use this internationally benchmarked and external assessment to get a clear mirror to reflect what has been learned and what needs more support, and we will be able to use that data to inform practical, thoughtful and targeted interventions for our learners in 2021.  

This will, of course, be one of the many pieces of information we will use to support young Novaneers in 2021 and one of the many ways we live out our commitment to making sure that we are a data-driven organization.

Our Boksburg campus’ staff and students recently celebrated Grandparents Day at retirement village SAVF Huis Dien Bothma, where they donated toiletries and pleasantries to the elderly.

On the day, Charlene Thomson and Mandy William, both teachers at Nova Pioneer Boksburg campus, were accompanied by students (observing all Covid-19 health and safety measures) as they handed over the donation.

 

The Nova Pioneer Boksburg campus chose to work with SAVF Huis Dien Bothma as it recognises the centre’s commitment and dedication to the service of elderly people in the community.

“Servant Leadership is one of our Culture Principles that we instil in our children, teaching them the importance of caring for others,” says Luciel Morgan, Head of School at Nova Pioneer Boksburg.

“We celebrated Grandparents Day by expressing our sincere gratitude to our senior citizens with a small token of appreciation. We believe that the elderly continue to play an important role in nurturing our lives and instilling moral values to our societies and therefore, we see it as our collective duty to care for them,” says Morgan.

In November 2018, Nova Pioneer acquired Boksburg based pre-school, Stepping Stones, which underwent the process of a gradual transition to Nova Pioneer. The school offers affordable private schooling and currently accepts children ranging from 3 months to 3 years into the Baby and Tots Center – the youngest Novaneers to date – and is open for applications for Pre-Primary and Primary, grade 000 to grade 5.

Don’t miss your opportunity to apply. 

 

Nova Pioneer Schools for Innovators and Leaders are inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach. The principles of relationships, spaces and environment are reflected in Tammy Gertzen’s classroom at our Boksburg campus.

At the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach is relationships. The school environment and spaces have been designed so that they foster interaction and communication, exploration and participation, a sense of autonomy and curiosity. In fact, the environment is thought of as the “third teacher” for its ability to foster connections between ideas, people and things. 

Think about the places you spend the majority of your time – your home, your immediate neighbourhood, and the place you work.  We aren’t always aware of it, but the spaces, activities and environment around us can have a big impact on how we feel, and what feels possible or allowable in that space. 

Being aware of how space, and place, shapes how we feel about ourselves and each other. In the 1970s Reggio Emilia began working on a project that looked specifically at the relationship between their philosophy of education, the architecture and resources of their schools, and their health and safety regulations. Through this project, they developed a set of design principles aimed at helping each school cultivate its own identity while still fostering values that are consistent across all the schools.

 

What does this look like in practice?

 

Care and beauty

 

The values of the Reggio Emilia approach and the unique identity of each school are communicated throughout classrooms and spaces. Over the decades, the schools have even worked with local companies to design particular kinds of furniture that can enhance children’s experiences and thinking. The environment, the spaces, the objects and furniture in them are all beautifully made and arranged. This beauty isn’t seen as a ‘nice to have’. It’s central to the educational experience. Beautiful spaces communicate that you care about the people and relationships they make in them, and encourage these people (big and small) to take care of each other and the things in that space. As the Charter of Services suggests, “taking care of the indoor and outdoor environment, the furniture, objects and materials by children and adults is an educational act that creates well-being, a sense of familiarity and belonging, aesthetic taste and the pleasure of inhabiting spaces, which are also primary prerequisites and conditions for safety”.

 

Environment as third teacher

 

Children are acutely sensitive to the world around them, and how a space or a particular material suggests certain possibilities. In Reggio Emilia, teachers welcome this influence and actively cultivate it, by recognising the environment as the third teacher in the classroom, capable of stimulating, deepening and challenging children’s thinking without saying a word. In a similar vein, they pay great attention to the intelligence of materials – the power of the natural and manufactured world to suggest certain uses or functions. When deciding what materials to introduce in the school around a particular investigation, teachers will first spend time exploring its particular ‘intelligence’, what possibilities it suggests to you as you explore it with all your senses. 

 

Sustainability and recycled materials

 

Both natural objects (like wood, stones and plants) and recycled materials (like plastic trays, pipes, material offcuts) are used to stimulate and deepen learning in the school. Schools aim to encourage empathy, the sustainable use of materials, and a kind resourcefulness that comes of being able to see new possibilities in natural and recycled objects and put them to use. When exploring a topic to do with the natural world, children are encouraged to go out into the environment, to see their object of study in its natural context (not to remove it), to get in relationship with the nature.

As for recycled materials, the city of Reggio Emilia has evolved recycling centres known as Remida, where offcuts and waste materials produced by the city’s factories and local artisans are collected, cleaned, and artfully displayed. These Remida are a free resource for teachers, a place they can go to explore the possibilities inherent in different materials, and collect what they need for their classroom or current investigation. “Remida is named after King Midas with the golden touch… It’s a name to acknowledge that everything, any material, can be, in our hands, in the children’s hands, like gold. A treasure. There is beauty in the imperfect.” 

The set up of provocations in the classroom inspires curiosity and imagination, it fosters communication and collaboration and supports enquiry and investigation. All the elements of great learning.

Applications to our Boksburg campus are open, contact admissions.boksburg@novapioneer or click below.

Michaela Kruger, our Grade 00 teacher at our North Riding campus, speaks to her continued learning through COVID-19.  

 

How do you get 4-5 year olds to practice social distancing?

 

In our class this term we first began by explaining social distancing to our students. Distance is a challenging concept for students to understand as they are still learning spatial awareness. We started by explaining to students the importance of only touching their own items as well as being responsible for their own bodies. When students arrived at school, we explained how they could create their own imaginary bubbles by swinging their arms around their bodies.

This was explained as their safe space and only they were allowed to be in their safe space. We allowed them to hold hula hoops around them in order for them to see the correct distancing as well as practise what it felt like to stand a certain distance away from their peers. We placed tape markings on the floor in our classroom and outside our classroom in order to make social distancing a more practical and understandable activity to practise. Students would stand on the tape markings and practise creating their imaginary bubbles around them.

 

How is your day structured now, is it the same routine?

 

Our daily structure is very similar to how it was before lockdown. We still include morning ring, academic rotations, PE, phonics, read alouds, outdoor play and nap time. The only thing that has slightly changed in our class is the fact that students no longer stand up and move for each academic rotation. Students remain at their tables and they are given the work to complete at their table. Every student has their own allocated space as well as their own stationery. Items are no longer shared amongst our students. Outdoor play has also changed as our sandpits and jungle gyms have been closed off. We have created fun social distancing games for students to play during this time as we feel gross motor and outdoor play is an important part of the day for all students.

 

What health and safety measures are observed?

 

Our teachers work extremely hard to ensure that no students are unsupervised. Teachers are always present and rigorously monitoring students and their behaviours. It is easy for students to pull down their masks or forget about social distancing as this is a new way of life, it is sometimes hard for us as adults to remember the rules of social distancing. Teachers monitor students during bathroom breaks, inside and outside the classroom as well as during dismissal and arrival. Desks and items that are used during the day are sanitized every 20 minutes and our classrooms are fully disinfected at the end of every day. Students have learnt to sanitize their hands during every interval as well as when they have sneezed or coughed (which they confidently do into their elbow).

 

Are you using just your classroom space or other spaces too?

 

We have only been using our classroom space and an allocated outdoor area. There are no longer shared spaces such as the studio area, jungle gyms, sandpit and mud kitchen.

 

 What protective gear do teachers and students wear?

 

Students and teachers have been wearing masks. Some of our students have been wearing face shields but they often find this hard as it fogs up and they are unable to see.

 

What is something that would’ve been normal for you to do before that you can’t do anymore?

 

It has been very challenging for teachers and students to remove physical touch. Pre-primary students are very affectionate and love to give hugs and receive them. We also used to have a class handshake and a greeting routine which involved students picking either a hug, a high five, a fist pump or a wave. This had to be removed from the day in order to follow all the rules and regulations. Students at this age are learning to express their emotions through words but gestures are often used while they learn to explain their emotions correctly but during this time students have had to adjust and learn a new approach by expressing their emotions from a distance. We included the COVID cuddle as a new approach to hugging. Playing with their peers and working in groups is also an important part of their development, with this being removed we’ve had to try and think of new ways to teach and grow these skills.

 

How do you explain the new normal to kids? What do they understand about it?

 

Most of our students had amazing explanations given to them by their parents at home. We started term two by doing a science experiment where you place water in a bowl and grind pepper on top. You then dip your finger into the water and the pepper flakes stick to your finger. You then place soap on your finger and place it in the water again. The pepper flakes seem to run away from your finger. We explained that the pepper flakes are like germs, if you have clean hands they won’t come near you.

We went on to speak about COVID and how is COVID spread. Students understood that germs can make you sick just like COVID and if we keep our hands clean it will help us to stay healthy. We then went on to ask: do you think if someone is sick and they cough or sneeze on you that you could get sick? With some thought, many students said yes. We asked: so how can we protect ourselves and others from not getting sick? They responded with many answers such as, stay home if you are sick, wash your hands more, wear a mask and cough or sneeze into your elbow. We asked students to wear their masks to our online lessons. We also asked students to show us how they would cough or sneeze. Students were taught how to wash their hands correctly while they count to 20. Our students grasped these concepts extremely well and were able to practise at home before schools reopened.

Our Nova Pioneer Boksburg students took learning through play to the next level by participating in World Play Day to acknowledge the child’s right to play as outlined in article 31 of the United Nations Conventions on the rights of the child. Play is also a big part of Nova Pioneer’s learning model, our curriculum incorporates play into daily school activities.

 

 

Developing through play

World Play Day is hosted annually with the hope of incorporating exploration, language experimentation, cognition, and the development of social skills which are central to children’s learning as well as the foundation of adult achievement. UNESCO maintains that “the encouragement of creativity from an early age is one of the best guarantees of growth in a healthy environment of self-esteem and mutual respect – critical ingredients for building a culture of peace.”

 

 

 

The Reggio Emilia Approach

Nova Pioneer’s curriculum follows the Reggio Emilia approach, a play-based pedagogy and supports the Africa Reggio Emilia Alliance chaired by own Director of Academics, Des Hugo. The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative approach to early childhood education. It values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child has a deep curiosity and potential. Children are curious to understand their world, and their place within it. The fundamental principles of Reggio Emilia resonate with Nova Pioneer’s learning approach. Playful learning, curiosity and exploration are essential for building knowledge.

And so, all our Nova Pioneer campuses incorporate play as part of learning. At Nova Pioneer we value the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. We also understand that every child has a deep curiosity and potential.  By incorporating play into their learning, we give students the chance to honour their talents, create, explore and collaborate.

 

Harvard University and the Lego Foundation research learning through play

Nova Pioneer Schools have been directly involved in research on the pedagogy of play project with Project Zero of Harvard Graduate School of Education. They work with teachers from around the world to determine best practice for learning through play. Mardell and his research team visited Nova Pioneer to observe lessons. Nova Pioneer was a part of a group of three schools selected in South Africa chosen.

 

 

 

World Play Day was just another opportunity for us to bring this to life and to celebrate play in a fun and engaging way.