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.

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.

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.

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.

Meet the new kid on the Nova Pioneer Block: Our Ruimsig campus. Nova Pioneer Ruimsig is located on the beautiful and quiet neighborhood of Amorosa Ext 27 in Ruimsig, Roodepoort.  The school opened its door to the Roodepoort communities in January this year.  It covers both pre-primary and primary education from Grade 000 to Grade 2, with a grade being added every year to ensure we grow with our little Novaneers.

 

 

The Campus

Set on an expansive 36 200m squared property, the school boasts an elegant building with modern contemporary architectural. Each element is intentionally designed to create a harmonious learning environment that stimulates curiosity and joy of learning for all the students. The glass wall class partitions opens up our school to form one open learning space. This is designed to promote collaborations and inspire confidence and creativity, while allowing positive distractions and cross-class engagements.

Our unique classrooms provide our little Novaneers with a platform to engage and learn in a group setup or as an individual. Our desks are arranged in 5 centers allowing group engagements and team participation of 6 students. This allows for different activities to take place and students to engage in the content being taught in a different way.

 

The Curriculum

The school offers an English medium Cambridge curriculum delivered using our unique enquiry-based learning approach. This ensures our Novaneers are learning to think and behave like leaders and innovators. Our lessons are designed to promote confidence and communication and all students work on solving real world problems. From ideation, prototyping to building and deploying their solution on campus and beyond. 

Robotics and coding are introduced to all students from as early as Grade R to prepare our Novaneers to thrive in a rapidly developing digital world and allows them to configure computer or robotics based solutions to shape the African century of automation and digital revolution.

 

 

The Facilities 

Our Campus boasts a variety of extra-curricular facilities such as a swimming pool available to all students from Grade R to participate in swimming lessons. We also have a basketball/Netball court, Tennis court and a soccer field where our kids are able to play, stay active and develop their talents while we carry opportunities to learn into the playground. The Nova Pioneer Ruimsig Campus is under the incredible leadership of Mrs Carla Hercules who has extensive experience and skills in school leadership.  

 

Contact Us 

Nono Masunyane is the school’s Brand and Admission Associate who will gladly welcome you to the school and assist you with everything you need from application, child assessment to enrolment.

You can contact Nono directly for a new application or more information about our school on 076 662 8616 or send an email to admissions.ruimsig@novapioneer.com.

Carla Hercules was recently appointed as the new Head of School at our newest Campus, Rumisig. This comes after the news that we would be opening a new campus in Ruimsig that will cater to parents with children in pre-primary and primary school, in January 2020. 

We are confident that with Carla’s extensive experience and her inspiring leadership, Nova Pioneer Ruimsig students will be developed into our future leaders and innovators. Carla is passionate about the unique Nova Pioneer learning approach which prepares our students to be globally competitive in the 21st century, and subsequently go on to change the continent and the world. As a long-time resident of the Roodepoort area, Carla has expressed her excitement to join the beautiful Ruimsig community and work closely with its residents to maintain the spirit and energy of their neighbourhood.

Carla and moved to join Nova Pioneer from her role at Sharonlea Primary School, where she had been Principal for seven years and deputy for six years prior. Before that, she was a teacher at Bushlands Primary, in KwaZulu-Natal, for just under ten years.  Along with a Diploma in Education, she also has two accreditations in organisational leadership – she is a lifelong learner and someone who exemplifies Joy of Learning.

These skills and her extensive prior school leadership experience will stand her in good stead, as she develops the team at Ruimsig, to welcome our first students to this new campus in 2020. Carla officially steps into this role in November 2019 to ensure the new Nova Pioneer Ruimsig campus is ready for a great start in January 2020.

Nova Pioneer Ruimsig will open its doors in January 2020 for students in Grades 000, 00, 1 and 2.