Our Novaneers have once more shown us what it means to take charge of their own learning. The closing of schools did not mean books had to be shut for our students at Nova Pioneer, Ormonde. They carried our reading culture home as they continued to prepare for the South African Literacy Association reading competition which, for the first time, took place remotely.

 

National Winners

 

Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, our students submitted videos of themselves reading their favourite books for the English Home Language prepared reading competition. Four of our students entered Reitumetse Mosikare and Lesedi Mosebo who both received a B symbol, Zahra Chalwe an A+ and Tshedza Sithagu an A++ in the provincial round. We wish to congratulate all these learners for their dedication to reading. 

Of these students, two proceeded to represent Nova Pioneer at the National Final Round. Zahra Chalwe contested in the English Home Language prepared reading grade 5 division. She was awarded 4th place after confidently reading from her book titled Wonder by R.J Palacio. Tshedza Sithagu who competed in the grade 6 division was awarded 3rd place after she had displayed her love of reading when she read from Horse for Angel.

 

“We Love Reading”

 

Tshedza Sithagu (Grade 6 student) expressed that she is beyond grateful for this opportunity. “Thank you for this award. I love reading and writing these are very close to my heart. I am excited and thankful for being recognised for my reading.”

This is what Zahra Chalwe (Grade 5 student) had to say, “Participating in the national rounds makes me feel proud, happy, nervous and excited. This is very big for me and, I know it will be hard and challenging but if I practice and try my best I know I will make it.”

At Nova Pioneer, we foster the culture of reading by allowing learners to choose the reading materials they wish to engage with. Furthermore, we provide platforms such as reading clubs to foster the love of reading outside of the classroom.

Written by Khensani Mabona – Resident Teacher at our Ormonde Campus. 

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.

At Nova Pioneer, we are intentional about the spaces that we create for learning. Children learn to love learning, and come to school to experience the joy and wonder of learning in a safe and loving environment.  Our students, parents and teachers experience Nova Pioneer Paulshof as a place of love and joy where all Novaneers feel appreciated, and valued. Our teachers love what they do, and parents know that this is a place for them too.

 

 

Creativity in the Nova Pioneer classrooms

All our teachers are given creative freedom to theme and design their classrooms for their students. In the process, students are also encouraged to take part in the making the space feel like their own by putting up their photos or photos of their families. Today we shine a spotlight on a Nova Pioneer Paulshof Campus classroom – Ms Neveling’s Grade R classroom. We asked Ms Neveling to tell us more about her Leaf Classroom.

 

 

What inspired you to create the “Leaf” Classroom theme?

The leaf classroom is what most people would call it but, I see it as a classroom that I created hoping to open doors and I am glad many walked in. My main idea behind my classroom decor, was a space that would accommodate each and every child. I wanted to bring something that they are all used to but in my own way. I made majority of the resources myself, from the alphabet chart to the huge birthday tree.

 

 

 

How long did it take you to decorate your classroom?

The decor making and the creation of the space, took 27 hours in total. A lot of time I know but I would do it all over again because seeing how excited the children were on Day 1 made it all worth it. So, it was not for me but for the children. I believe that our classroom space does affect the atmosphere each and every day. I see how children are happy, calm and comfortable in their corner of nature.

 

 

What has been the response from parents and people who have seen your classroom?

I recently placed pictures of my class on twitter, and unexpectedly received 6,5K Likes and 724 Retweets. I also received a great amount of messages, amazing comments and books delivered to our class, from the author herself. The response I received from the parents and learners,made me appreciate the long hours I spent planning and putting this space together. I plan to carry my love for beautiful and inspiring spaces into every class I am placed in, as I know it might inspire me in the moment, but it will inspire those young minds for years to come.