“So that morning in 1962 I told myself: Let everyone else call your idea crazy… just keep going. Don’t
stop running. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where
“there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop” – Phil Knight, Shoe Dog.

Over the years, it has become a sentimental Nova Pioneer metaphor to liken the organic growth of the
schools to that of a baby. By gradually opening new campuses, introducing new grade levels and
continuously expanding our horizons, Nova Pioneer has slowly learnt how to crawl, walk and fend for
itself in a fast-changing world. But given the supreme operational and academic performance of the
school in the past year, I would suggest we have gone a step further – Nova Pioneer has been running all
along. In our relentless pursuit of High Expectations, we have definitely done ourselves proud in the most
challenging of times.

On exciting developments, I wish to extend my congratulations to Nova Pioneer Ormonde in electing its first female Student Committee Chair, Zewande Phiri. Having had the honour of being Chair myself in 2019, I firmly believe Zewande’ leadership prowess, social intelligence and stellar academic record make her the immaculate, well-rounded individual needed to lead the school’s student body. I wish her, along with Emmanuel Manzini, Zanele Mlambo, Zainub Butt, Chinedu Edward, Atiyyah Ally and Declan Watson, all the luck, energy and will-power in guiding the student body in this difficult moment in time. The Class of 2021 has always left an uplifting impression on me in demonstrating an unrelenting willingness and enthusiasm for leadership – now embrace your roles as model custodians and servant leaders with the same vigour you have shown over the past 5 years. You are nearing the finish line – keep going, don’t stop running.

In the most challenging of periods in history, Nova Pioneer has successfully adapted to the changes forced by the pandemic. The psychological strength shown by all stakeholders during this difficult period in human history has inspired me beyond comprehension. In the most arduous periods of our short history as a group of schools, we have not lost our values or ethics. In the face of calamity, we have not stopped running. Moreover, the anticipated opening of a secondary school in the Midrand reinforces this truth. In spite of the cataclysmic happenings around us, we have not lost sight of our mission to have 100 schools across Africa within 10 years. I celebrate the global leadership team, school managements teams, ground staff, admin staff, all educators, students and parents for their ‘Solutions First’ approach and unabating efforts to steer the organisation through the darkest of times.

It is no surprise that our alumni, or living founders, are placed in the best universities, colleges and leadership academies on the continent and abroad as well. This speaks to an inherent resilience and intelligence, as well as the infinite post-school possibilities Nova Pioneer offers its students. In this regard, it is imperative that a formally constructed and recognised alumni network across Africa is acknowledged as a necessity. Establishing an official platform for former students to interact, network and collectively find solutions to Africa’s challenges will be a seismic step towards the African utopia we all strive to witness in our lifetime. It is without doubt that creating and revitalising the synergy between Nova Pioneer alumni such as Jeanne Sere, Wairimu Wahome, Ntando Makwela, Phillip Mburu and Taskeen Hoosen, just to name a few, would be a significant stride not only for Nova Pioneer, but the African continent at large. Ensuring access for alumni to a pan-African network of alumni and resources to keep them running beyond the finish line per se of a Cambridge A Level certificate, is a path we ought to explore. This is because, as a pan-African network of schools, we ultimately have a decisive responsibility to develop lasting mechanisms to ensure that our alumni collaborate in creating ground-breaking African solutions for African problems.

Lastly, I wish to extend to you a recommendation to a new platform – The JM Podcast – where we have conversations that will narrate and shape the trajectory of Africa’s future. In the spirit of Greater Together, the podcast will be run by myself and Kagiso Ramaboea, a fellow living founder of Nova Pioneer Ormonde. Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that External Relations Associate Manager at Nova Pioneer Kenya, Robert Omondi, who has recently been offered a scholarship at Duke University, will feature in season one of the podcast alongside Vahin Naka, a student at our Ormonde campus. This podcast is an expression of our vision of a unified, connected and self-reliant Africa. Be sure to integrate an hour of the profound insights and ideas from The JM Podcast into your weekly routine.

My final words to you are – ‘keep going’. Never let up. Whether this be in our personal lives which are fraught with eternal struggle, or your academic or professional career which pushes you to your limits – any aspect of your life which requires your strength and endurance. Never let up. Class of 2021, don’t stop running; put in the extra hours that will guarantee you success. Keep going; you will do it. Nova Pioneer, let’s keep running for the betterment of our continent, of its future and of its people. Let us never lose sight of our crucial role in the unending pursuit of the pioneer dream.

JM
https://anchor.fm/the-jmpodcast

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.

 

 

In celebration of ‘Make A Difference Day’ earlier this year, Nova Pioneer Midrand students successfully embarked on a book collection drive with the hope of donating their books to a school based in the Alexandra township, North of Johannesburg this December.  

The learning model of the Nova Pioneer schools fosters a great love of reading through daily read-aloud’s, guided reading and writers’ workshops. Our students donated pre-loved books to children who do not have easy access to books. “It was so heartwarming to see the enthusiasm from our Novaneers to share their books. They understand the magic of stories that lie between the covers of a book. Even the youngest students enjoy engaging with non-fiction text as they learn about the world around them,” says Jeanine Kerr, School Leader at Nova Pioneer Midrand.

Teachers know that the fastest and most effective way of improving academic results in children is to get them reading. Exposure to the written word builds vocabulary, comprehension, ability to predict and infer and improves writing skills. Other academic subjects also benefit indirectly from reading more. 

“As a school that is firmly entrenched in our culture principle, we believed that donating these books was an opportunity to give a gift of learning to other children,” says Kerr. 

Nova Pioneer Midrand offers private education and is currently enrolling from Grade 000 to Grade 7 in 2021.  For more information and application queries contact us via email on  admissions.midrand@novapioneer.com or call us on 064 946 6724.

At Nova Pioneer, we focus on providing a holistic education for our students that extends beyond the classroom. We strive to teach our students the values that will make them more socially responsible and to live out our Culture Principle of Servant Leadership.

“This term, Nova Pioneer Ruimsig embarked on a charity initiative for children who are less fortunate. We decided on the Santa Shoe Box charity drive,” says Carla Hercules, School Lead at Nova Pioneer Ruimsig. 

“We partnered with Eleanor from the Lighthouse Baby Shelter who gave us a list of items required and the age group of the children at her shelter. Our Ruimsig students and parents were very excited to participate in this worthy initiative. We were able to fill over 40 shoeboxes with stationery, toys, sweets and clothing. Our students wrapped and labelled each shoebox with pride while dressed in superhero civvies,” says Hercules. 

Nova Pioneer is extremely proud and thankful to our parents and students for supporting this initiative in a time when many are experiencing financial constraints.

“It was a very special morning as our students handed over the shoeboxes to a very emotional and grateful Eleanor from the Lighthouse Baby Shelter,” says Hercules. 

The Lighthouse Baby Shelter, founded in 2008 by Eleanor Dustan, is an orphanage situated at 48 Drysdale Road, Sundowner in Randburg that looks after children from birth to the age of six. 

Our Ruimsig campus is enrolling from 000 to Grade 3 for 2021. Complete an application on our website and an Admissions Associate will be in contact.

Nova Pioneer recently celebrated its valedictory ceremony for its Grade 12 students at Ormonde Secondary. The ceremony, which took place at the campus, saw students and staff maintaining all social distance protocols as well as live streaming for those students, speakers and family members who were unable to attend in person. 

“Nova Pioneer is proud of how quickly our students and teachers were able to adapt to learning during the pandemic this year. Because we follow the Cambridge curriculum, three groups of pupils sat exit exams over this time: Grade 11 (IGCSE), Grade 12 (AS) and Grade 13 (A-levels). All of these students had to pivot between ‘normal’ school, fully online and hybrid delivery systems while preparing for these high-stakes exams. We are incredibly proud of the perseverance and can-do approach that they displayed at all times”, says Theun Opperman, Head of School at Nova Pioneer Ormonde Secondary. 

2020 presented unprecedented challenges, with schools mandated to close in March. As a result, Nova Pioneer shifted immediately to virtual learning to support the continued learning of students. The anxiety associated with this sudden change was felt by all students and parents, but none more so than those in their final year of school. 

Ntando Makwela, the author of “The Dynamic Kid” and a student at Nova Pioneer Ormonde, started his address at the Grade 12 valedictory ceremony by saying that his class needed to celebrate the fact that one skill they have acquired through this year is ‘resilience’. 

“The class of 2020 have developed the skill of being able to learn on their own, with teacher support that looked and felt very different, through online platforms that have become their school experience in March. They were always very aware that they would be writing international exams and as such had no choice but to leverage technology and each other throughout this period”, says Ntando Mlilo, Dean of Students at Ormonde Secondary. 

“One of the biggest achievements of the class of 2020 was to maintain the connection in the school throughout this remote climate. This was achieved through having school-wide conversations around topical issues, such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Gender-based violence’.  Planned and moderated by students, these termly conversations ensured a sense of unity within the student body. What one can learn from the class of 2020 is that resilience is built when young people are given the opportunity and platform to independently persevere through challenging times”, says Mlilo. 

Nova Pioneer is a proudly African independent school network that builds and operates world-class facilities offering affordable education. As a testament to its commitment and perseverance to excellence, Nova Pioneer is celebrating some fantastic achievements from its second class of Grade 12’s since opening in 2015.  

The Nova Pioneer concept is the brainchild of Chinezi Chijioke whose vision is to produce world-class African leaders and thinkers who will power the continent forward. The Harvard and Stanford graduate has a life-long passion for education and always dreamed of being a part of a team that would develop schools across Africa to unleash the incredible potential of the continent’s youth.

Part of Chijioke’s vision was to offer a holistic education to his students. This meant not only attending to their scholastic needs but also building character.  “Our vision of a Novaneer is centered on three ‘C’s: character, capabilities, and connection.  The three together equip our students to solve problems, take on challenges and shape the world for the better.  Among the three Cs, the first is Character, because it is the foundation upon which distinctive capabilities, or the connections of a strong community, are built,” says Chinezi.  

As the 2020 academic year draws to a close, there is much anticipation at the Nova Pioneer Midrand school as they prepare for the new year and the opening of their new campus, located on Third Road, less than 250m from the current school campus, during the course of 2021. 

 

According to Nova Pioneer Midrand School Lead, Jeanine Kerr, the new building will serve the Upper Primary section of Nova Pioneer Midrand, accommodating students in grades 4 to 7. The school’s growth plans include the introduction of a Secondary school in 2022 which will offer a Cambridge Curriculum.

 

“As a school network that prides itself on helping shape young innovators and leaders, we are excited to have the opportunity to serve and engage even more families in the greater Midrand community,” says Mrs Kerr. In a safety-compliant way – using videos and small tours – we have been able to show many of our existing families (and prospective ones too) this new campus and their response has been one of excitement and anticipation!

 

Nova Pioneer believes in transparency in everything that they do. This is represented in the design of our buildings through the use of a lot of glass to further reinforce this. Glass doors join classrooms and shared spaces and encourage collaboration as students and teachers move between the classes. Class doors can be opened to create flexible, open spaces for project work or assemblies and the like.

 

The building design utilises natural lighting techniques This not only saves on energy but it also creates a productive and joyful atmosphere for our students and teachers. 

 

“We first broke ground on the new site in October 2019 and had planned to complete the first phase of the building by July 2020. As is typical of the Nova Pioneer spirit, the building team and their tenacious contractors managed to overcome construction disruptions and building supply shortages that COVID-19 presented. They were not discouraged and the Nova Pioneer property team and contractors managed to deliver the world-class, modern campus that will soon be home to Nova Pioneer Upper Primary and Secondary school students” says Mrs Kerr.

 

Phase 1 of the development includes a modern double-storey classroom block with 10 classrooms per floor, as well as central studio space. The new block also includes a science lab for students. 

 

“External facilities include age-specific play areas surrounding the classroom block, as well as sporting facilities, which includes a 25m x 8m swimming pool, multipurpose hardcourt (for tennis, basketball and netball) and a full-size sports field that can be used for soccer, cricket, athletics and other sports,” she went on to confirm.

 

“All of these will be completed as part of the initial phase. However, as excited as we are about the expansion and extended campus, it is also important to note that we are just as committed to constantly investing in our existing campus.”

 

“The phase 2 building of our Secondary School which will be built after Phase 1 completion. We look forward to having our students complete their entire career of schooling (Grade 000 to Grade 13) with us”, says Mrs Kerr.

 

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 building design helps facilitate the learning process for every Novaneer. 

 

Nova Pioneer Midrand will include Grade 7 in 2021 and launch its inaugural Grade 8 class in 2022 which is open to students beyond Nova Pioneer Midrand Primary. For more information, contact our Midrand admissions team on admissions.midrand@novapioneer.com.

 

Spark Schools recently challenged Nova Pioneer to the #JerusalemaChallenge and we’d like to think we turned it on its head. The team (teachers and students) had an amazing time getting in on the action. 

Be sure to like, subscribe and comment on our Youtube page!

 

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.

Nova Pioneer Paulshof student, Jiya Soudamma (aged 10) began her karate journey at the age of 4 ½.

“It started off with her being diagnosed with ADHD and karate was a way of getting her to release some of this energy. Little did we know at the time, that it would become her passion and identity. She soon became the “mighty mouse” of her karate club, Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Sunninghill Club and started earning the titles of ‘best junior female’ to ‘best senior female’, ‘student with most medals’, ‘student with most grit’ and the prestige award of “Student of the Year” for 2 consecutive years,” says Jiya’s parents, Mr and Mrs Soudamma. Further to her achievements within the club, Jiya also obtained her Gauteng Karate colours at the age of 8.

She competes in Kata and Kumite which makes her training and dedication even stronger. This sport requires a lot of strength, determination and discipline. As a girl diagnosed with ADHD, having the patience to focus and concentrate on each and every move takes a lot out of her. This dedication has led to Jiya being ranked 3rd for Kumite and 4th for Kata in South Africa. She has represented Gauteng in Karate South Africa league tournaments in KZN, Western Cape, Free State and of course Gauteng where her heart is. Jiya has received over 50 medals to date.

In 2019, Jiya participated in the prestigious Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Sports Championship and was placed 3rd for Kumite at the event. Karate takes up a lot of Jiya’s time with her training at least 3 to 4 times a week and participating in approximately 9 tournaments a year. As a current purple belt student, she often has to balance her time between academics, family and karate.

 

What is Jiya’s vision of her future in Karate? 

 

To achieve her black belt before the end of grade 12. Jiya continues to receive exceptional support from her parents, her sensei’s – Rajen Moodley and Nad Naicker as well as her family at Nova Pioneer Paulshof. 

“Believe in yourself and all that you are, know that there is something inside of you which is greater than any obstacle,” says Jiya. 

 

 

 

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.