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.

 

 

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.

 

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. 

 

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.

A personal symbol of “Life After Nova Pioneer” for myself and those close to me was the day I finally cut my peculiar, nappy dreads off. It was on that normal day in the first month of a surreal year that I matched the next chapter of my life with an adjustment to  my physical appearance. Dreads that had become so synonymous with my story and eccentric period at Nova Pioneer, had reached their noble culmination which coincided with the exordium of my academic career in Law, at arguably the most acclaimed tertiary institution in South Africa, the University of Witwatersrand. 

 

The Rapid Shift

 

The scale of the transition to university has been unprecedented, in keeping with the theme of the unforgettable year of 2020. The rapid shift from two months of contact learning to online learning, the mental adaptation necessary to get accustomed to living at home again, the high cognitive demands of a law degree – all of this alongside the strange practicalities of living in a COVID-19 world have all been challenges I have grappled with in my first year at Wits. Obviously though, my challenges are extremely trivial relative to the horror many families and individuals all around the world have experienced at this time.

 

Personal Growth and Improvement

 

This reality has added an additional emotional strain on my empathetic nature so much so that I decided to stop watching the news about a month ago, as one of the limited things I can control at this time is my emotional and mental well-being. My partial oblivion to world affairs which have become so distraught, has allowed me greater psychological space to enjoy the mere simplicity of life like reading books. These reads include, “The Land Is Ours” by Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, “Sula” by Toni Morrison and “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the most so far. In this way, perhaps, the lockdown has been a productive time for my personal growth and improvement, despite the unfortunate events that caused it. 

 

A New World

 

As I continue the online learning programme, I remain hopeful and pray for better days for our feeble world at this moment. If we, as a human race, can come out of this historic predicament with more empathy and fortitude, a genuine appreciation of unity, equality and how much we actually need each other, then perhaps this disastrous year would have aided our mentalities and outlooks on life for the better. Perhaps, if we can return to a normal world with greater awareness and an authentic willingness to eradicate the evils of our country, and the world at large, such as corruption, racial injustices, gender-based violence and poverty to name a few, then we would have probably used this dark period in our lives to come to terms with the subtle realities of the world we live in and acknowledge the need for real change. 

I shall end with a couple of lines from a song I think encapsulates the remarkably strange times we’re in: 

“Streams running down my eyes think I’m losing faith

But God is always on time no he’s never late

This epidemic had my mind in another place

Put some love in the world let it marinate”

– Kofi Stone, Diamonds in the Water

Thanks for reading, stay safe, stay hopeful and spread love. The world needs it, especially at such extraordinary times. 

Check out our webinars where our alumni from both South Africa and Kenya discuss life after Nova Pioneer.