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. 

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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.

If you had asked any of our teammates in the beginning of the year how we saw 2020 turning out, the answer definitely wouldn’t have been “surviving a Pandemic”.  I mean, if our One Team Day “Uptown Funk” dance off was anything to go by, no one could’ve predicted that the president would shut down schools weeks later.

 

Nothing keeps us down too long

Despite the issues of our world, our team has been amazing in pulling together while we’ve stayed and worked safely apart. We saw our academic teams pivot quickly to teaching virtually and even getting back on campus to teach in what we now refer to as our “new normal”. As an organisation we were also very intentional about keeping the team feeling connected through virtual team meets and events. We recently hosted the first Virtual One Team Day – with more than 200 teammates on a Zoom line. It doesn’t stop there. Our team also recently took part in the from the Jerusalema Challenge. Can we say that we haven’t let the year keep us down?

 

Pulse Check

Every year our Culture and Talent Teams send out a team survey to check in on our teammates. This year, this survey was especially important. One of the questions we ask in the Culture Survey, or pulse check is, ‘Even on a hard day do you feel this is the place for you?’ I think it is safe to say that 2020  has felt like a hard day for everyone both physically and mentally. don’t you agree?

To see what keeps our Novaneers ticking and understand the deeper commitment to exceeding expectations even on a hard ‘day’, we asked some of our teammates a simple question: Why Nova Pioneer? Here is what a few of our teammates had to say. 

 

Sameerah, Associate Dean (Ormonde) 

Whenever I question myself or my¨why¨, seeing our students´ growth and potential motivates me to strengthen my practice and not only lead by example, but allow myself to be led by them. 

 

Sona – Teacher (Ruimsig)

My name is Sona Moodley and I am a Novaneer. I was born to shine! My name actually means “gold, precious”. At Nova Pioneer, I found an environment that enables and empowers the star in me to shine brighter and live in lustre. Being a Novaneer makes me want to do better; be bigger; and go higher. 

 

Kobus – Learning Design Team 

What makes me proud to be a Novaneer is that we are challenging harmful stereotypes of the African continent by developing young innovators and leaders who will shape the continent into a place of abundance and prosperity. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to develop signature learning experiences, which will equip Novaneers with the skills and competencies to be changemakers for the continent. I am proud of being part of the Africa Rising movement by working for Nova Pioneer. 

 

Wes – People, Systems and Analytics Team 

Nova Pioneer is filled with the most diverse and talented bunch of people I have ever had the privilege of working with. A group of people who are sincerely committed to improving the lived experience of as many others as possible. In many organizations there will be talk of culture, of how an employee conducts themselves and how they interact with others- mostly all talk in my experience. The difference here is that I see the tangible outcomes of teammates who actually do live out our culture principles, not some cliched hollowed out version of it. I see people who want to go the extra mile. I am proud to work alongside such a calibre of person and I am proud of how the work we do will impact the African century. 

 

Samson – Teacher (Ormonde)

Working at any school can be a challenge but there are so many reasons why I love working at  Nova Pioneer: Nova Pioneer is incredibly unique – The methodology and style of teaching are so engaging. Our inquiry-based learning brings enthusiasm and meaningful meaning to learning. Our culture principles enable us to trust and build a team that focuses on growth mindset, solutions to every problem. We believe that learning is a journey to both our students and teachers. 

 

Karely – Teacher (Paulshof) 

I love being a Novaneer because of the tremendous support and opportunities for growth. Through observations, feedback and professional development sessions, I’ve grown as a teacher and have achieved more than I ever thought I could. I am part of such a caring, compassionate team, and I truly feel appreciated and seen as an individual. 

 

Inge – Admissions and Marketing Team 

Disneyland has it wrong, to me Nova Pioneer is the happiest place in the world. The organisation is really thoughtful about the kind of people they hire and as a result every day you’ll work with remarkable, smart, kind and engaged teammates. The leadership team is diverse, approachable and deeply connected to our mission so every choice we make adds to the bigger goal of enhancing education across the African continent. Joy is palpable here and so even on the toughest days (and we know that 2020 has had plenty of those) I know it’s the place for me. 

 

Basil – Associate Dean (Ormonde)

If you are looking for a stimulating place to teach, to flex your creative and intellectual muscles, to spread your wings; then Nova Pioneer is the place to teach. Day by day we seek to change the world and create a launch pad for the life success of our students. Come and be a part of the team at Nova Pioneer senior school. 

 

Lebo M – Receptionist (Ormonde)

I have never had to adjust my personality to feel at home, we work hard for our children and parentś needs and play just as hard to feed our inner child souls.  Thereś freedom to express your opinion with no fear of discrimination and you are always challenged to do more for yourself in order to do more for others. 

 

If being in an organisation where your toughest days are still worth it or being in a place where you can embed your personal why to a mission you believe in, Nova Pioneer may be for You. Visit our Careers page now, applications for 2021 are officially open!

 

Traditionally, there is a common saying that says children must be seen not heard. In this era, in order to effectively groom the holistic child to their full potential, we need to listen to them and understand their state of mind. We also need to be able to view their social cues, which means comprehending their socialization. We cannot merely focus on academics forgetting that human beings are social creatures who co-exist and thrive on social interaction. We need to nurture our students so that they may be able to live in harmony with others. We need to equip them with the skills to be free to express themselves while being mindful and respectful of other people around them. That is why Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is very important. 

SEL not only improves academic achievement, but it also increases prosocial behaviours (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy), improves student attitudes toward school, and reduces depression and stress among students. By incorporating SEL, students are more successful in school and daily life when they:

• Know and can manage themselves resulting in more positive social behaviours and relationships with peers and adults leading to sound choices about personal and social decisions.
• Understand the perspectives of others and relate effectively with them which leads to more positive attitudes toward oneself, others, and tasks including enhanced confidence, persistence, empathy, and a sense of purpose.

• Reduced conduct problems, risk-taking behaviour and decreased emotional distress.
• Improved test scores, grades, and attendance.

Apart from our  SEL lessons in class, we launched Tool Box in January and it has been a resounding success. The Toolbox curriculum teaches 12 simple yet powerful “Tools.” With deliberate practice in a class and school that shares them, these inner skills become important personal and social proficiencies for self-awareness, self-management, healthy relationships, and responsible decision making. The common language and practices of Toolbox help children quickly adopt the Tools and use them with autonomy, resilience, and self-mastery. 

The more students use and internalise the 12 Tools, the easier it will be for them to self regulate and also help others around them do the same.  Because the ToolBox teaches students to be empathetic and consider the impact of their actions on others, students are less likely to bully other students as they become more solutions-oriented, calmer and more willing to talk through how they are feeling as opposed to resorting to a physical altercation. The Tool Box also helps students develop self and social awareness, self-management,  relationship skills and responsible decision-making skills. 

It has really been amazing seeing our Novaneers asking their peers to ¨use your breathing tool¨ when they see that their friend is angry and needs to calm down. It is incredible when you walk into a grade R class and you see other students encouraging their shy classmate to ¨use your courage tool¨ to share out the answer in class. It is incredibly remarkable how emotionally aware and mature our Novaneers are after equipping them with the right ´tools´ to navigate various life situations. Please refer to this link for information about the ToolBox  Here

 

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.

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.

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.