Six years ago

 

On July 7th 2014, 20 teammates and 30 students gathered for the Pioneer Winter Programme.  There were two programmes: we welcomed 15 Grade 00-1 “Young Pioneers”, and 15 Grade 6-8 “Pioneer Innovators”.  It was the first time teammates and students would come together to do what we do: grow innovators and leaders!   With that step, after many months of preparation and anticipation, our journey to develop innovators and leaders who will shape the African Century began in earnest.  With that coming together, Nova Pioneer was born.

One year ago, as Nova Pioneer turned 5, we celebrated our birthday for the first time.  What a year it has been since then!  It has been a year that has led us to reckon with both a health pandemic and a global social justice movement that could well define our generation.  It has been a year in which we have faced up to the challenges of learning to work, learn and live in new ways; and most importantly of staying true and committed to our mission, our students and each other through the most challenging stretch yet of our journey together.  It has also been a year of important achievements: the milestone of our first graduates, the growth of our students in all grades and teammates in all roles; and the welcoming of new campuses, teammates and students to the Novaneer family.  

 

On a personal note

 

I have never been as challenged or encouraged by our journey as I have been this past year.  I have felt greater extremes of strain and setback on the one hand, and gratitude and admiration on the other, than I have in any year of my life to date.  In my birthday message to teammates last year, I wrote that I consider our team and culture to have been our greatest achievements of our first five years.  I still do.  Our collective response to the unprecedented challenges of this year — while remaining committed to our mission and each other through it all — will be a close second!  Indeed, that too will also be a reflection of our team and culture.  

 

Where will the world be, where will we be?

 

One year from now on July 7th 2021?  How about July 7th 2022?  I hope that one year from now we will be able to look back with a sense of accomplishment and pride at the year we will have led, the storms we will have weathered, the scars we will have endured, and the triumphs we will have earned.  I hope that two years from now, with a world emerging from a long winter and looking forward with the exuberance and optimism of spring, we will once again pause and be able to take pride in our journey — our learning, our adaptations, our choices, our successes.  As we do so, on both of those days, I hope that we will be able to look around at ourselves and feel an ever-stronger sense of unity and bond amongst ourselves, and look within ourselves and feel affirmed by who we will have individually and collectively shown ourselves to be.  

From Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist — a book that met me at the right challenging moment in my life — I share with you: “No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”  I am grateful for every moment of this journey together with you, and look forward to the many years ahead of us! 

Happy 6th birthday Novaneers 🙂

Nova Pioneer secondary students Ungowakho Madolo and Tyler George use their creativity, through poetry and song respectively, to speak out on the global Black Lives Matter movement. Here’s what they had to say: 

 

Black lives matter

 

Poem by Ungowakho Madolo, Grade 8 Student, Nova Pioneer Ormonde

We are all dealing with new ways of working these days and as we embark on engaging more frequently in the digital arena, virtual meetings have now become a norm — even for sectors and teams where that is not ordinarily the case. As such, we want to ensure that you and your team feel prepared, and that meetings can continue to be joyful and effective.

Here are some simple ideas to support you and your team.

 

First of all – do all the things that make ANY meetings effective

 

Schedule in advance

Check your team’s calendar and schedule meetings in ahead of time. Pick a time that is mutually convenient for everyone who is meant to attend.

 

Assess how much time you actually need

The default setting for most of our calendars is 1 hour, but first assess: do you really need an hour? Or, you need more than an hour? Make sure the amount of time you’re scheduling matches the agenda..

 

Speaking of agendas, have one

We are all busy and have lots on our plates – so make sure that you know what you’re covering in each meeting, and either put that agenda directly in the meeting invitation or go over it at the beginning of the meeting so everyone is clear on what’s being covered.

 

Be clear about next steps: Make sure to end the meeting with deliverables and next steps, when those things are due, and who is responsible.

 

 

5 Tips Especially for Remote Meetings

 

It’s not just what you say… it’s how you say it

Be conscientious of your tone (especially if offscreen) and body language (if video is on). Research says that 55% of communication is body language, while another 38% is tone of voice – we read a lot from what is “unsaid”!

 

Be present!

Everyone can tell when you’re multi-tasking. Yes, when dialing in from the biggest distracting tools (phones and computers), it can be tempting to check email quickly or respond to that whatsapp message. But treat this like any other face-to-face meeting, and stay focused.

 

Start with a checkin and end with a burst

These connectivity rituals can be even more important during a time where we’re working remotely. While this may not be necessary for a shorter, more tactical meeting, err on the side of taking the time to continue to strengthen culture.

 

Pass the baton

If you’re doing a go-around where everyone should answer – ask the person speaking to pick the next person so that sharing happens efficiently.

 

“Oh sorry, I was on mute”

If you’re taking the call from somewhere quiet, no need to keep your mute button on, as people often forget or take time to “unmute” themselves. However, if there’s a lot of background noise where you are, please stay muted unless you’re speaking.

 

Extra Bonus section… some special tips for using Zoom

 

Seen and heard!

Use headphones to prevent interference, and use video (not just audio) if possible, at least at the start of the meeting. If you want to see everyone at once, you can switch to gallery view in upper right corner.

 

Share your screen

Depending on what you’re covering, you may find it useful to share your screen. However, don’t forget to close out when you’re done sharing!

 

Break-out of the norm

Did you know that you can create break-out rooms (how to use breakout rooms) on Zoom? If you need to do a turn-and-talk, or separate a larger group into smaller ones, this feature can be particularly useful

 

And… don’t get caught playing “conference call Bingo”! 

Students, teachers staff, 3rd parties and even parents, you have access to our beautiful schools daily but ever wondered how we go about ensuring that your time on our campuses is a happy and safe one?

 

Well, that responsibility falls on the big shoulders of Nova Pioneer’s Health and Safety compliance officers who work behind the scenes to make that a reality.

 

Health and safety are the activities related to ensuring the wellbeing of all persons that are present on our school grounds. 

 

Health and Safety touch on physical as well as emotional wellbeing, and it makes this field very rewarding yet challenging at the same time. However, we at Nova Pioneer take our responsibilities in this regard very seriously and have instituted a formal health and safety program throughout our network of schools. 

 

Health and Safety at Nova Pioneer is governed by the following policies and these documents form the basis of all our health and safety practices at all Nova Pioneer schools.

 

• Health & Safety Policy
• Emergency Management Plan
• Health & Safety Procedures

 

In addition, each school has a fully functioning Health and Safety Committee, who are charged with the day-to-day management of health and safety risks at individual campuses. This speeds up decision-making processes and mitigation of risk, on the ground, as it arises.

 

All schools report once per term on the status of compliance on issues that have arisen during the term. This, in turn, is collated into a report to the Nova Pioneer Managing Director on the overall state of compliance with the standard of health and safety across the network.

 

In a follow up to this article, we will share some of the specific activities we engage in to ensure that we manage the health and safety of all Novaneers responsibly.

 

Click here to read more on our Nova Pioneer policy documents

 

Nova Pioneer Secondary students competed in the 2019 AGEC19 challenge. Our students got the opportunity to immerse themselves in the gamified learning platform that was open to all high school students from Grade 8 to Grade 12.

 

Tough Competition

Our students competed against 300 other schools from around South Africa. During five weeks of competition, students were exposed to entrepreneurial development as well as exponential technologies like Blockchain, Digital Biology, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things or 3D printing. Students experienced this through bite-sized chunks of enriched, digitised skills-based learning.

 

Students gain exposure

Within this sphere of  #AGEC19 Novaneers were exposed to habits and concepts pertinent to being an entrepreneur. The challenges were categorised into themes like Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), food security, affordable housing and healthcare. Novaneers engaged in this experience by researching (collecting data, interviews and creating applications) and formulated realistic solutions to these issues. 

Six of our students really demonstrated their #Joy of Learning and exceeded #High Expectations by achieving accolades for their work in the competition. Secondary students Neo Motaung, Siphesihle Dubazana achieved Bronze certificates while Tasmiyya Paruk, Ayanda Sibanda, Sandisiwe Nyoni, and Lesedi Mnguni achieved Gold Awards.

Tasmiyya Paruk has been selected to deliver her ideas in the form of a business pitch. She was selected out of hundreds of submissions. As a community of Novaneers, we celebrate these achievements and couldn’t be prouder of our future entrepreneurial leaders on their successes. 

Our Nova Pioneer students made their voices heard when they joined their peers from around the globe in a protest for climate change as part of The School Strike for Climate Change. This is in response to scientists around the world warning that we only have 25 years left to slow global warming down. 

 

Students take a stand

The School Strike for Climate is an international movement of school students who decided to take part in demonstrations to demand action to prevent further global warming and climate change. During our Friday morning assembly, our Nova Pioneer students were given the opportunity to stage their strike on campus. Students committed to participate in the The School Strike for Climate to show world leaders that they mean business and that climate change is a real crisis that deserves real solutions.

 

 

A memorandum for change

We invited Ward Councillor Isa Dos Santos to accept their Memorandum which included requests from local government to implement stricter penalties for those who negatively impact our environment. Our students would like to see a great improvement in our public transport system with hopes that it will result in fewer cars on the road as people will be willing to use public transportation. We also think that it should be compulsory for all schools to have school buses. Councillor Dos Santos agreed to take the list of requests made by the students and to hand it over to the Mayor of Joburg, Herman Mashaba.

 

 

Real change is affected by active citizens

Nova Pioneer fully supports our students participating in activities that will either ignite or help bring about change. We established Nova Pioneer because we believe education should prepare young people to create their future, not just work in it. Nova Pioneer is a launchpad where ambitious young Africans can begin to shape a better future for the continent and the world. The School Strike for Climate was an opportunity for Novaneers to become active citizens.