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Operation Wallacea - South Africa June 2018
Operation Wallacea - South Africa June 2018
My first expedition with Operation Wallacea in 2016, to Indonesia, was a life changing experience. Two years later Mr Lee Wilson was running another expedition to South Africa, so I took the opportunity to go. To get to South Africa from Singapore we first traveled to Dubai and then on to Johannesburg. It was winter in South Africa and Johannesburg was bitingly cold. Our first destination was Balule Game Reserve. We had comfortable lodgings overlooking the Olifants River. Balule is located in Kruger National Park which is an area the size of Wales and where we spent our terrestrial week. Some of the highlights of the week included having a lecture about rhinos, hunting and poaching. Another high point was seeing lions just outside the camp feeding on a giraffe carcass, which stank! We spent the week conducting game and bird transects to provide valuable data to the resident scientists. Up at 5am most mornings, we rode a 4 wheel drive across the reserve and saw hippos, elephants, lions, giraffes and a range of smaller animals.
The second week of the expedition was the marine week. Our location was Sodwana Bay which is close to Swaziland. The first day we were required to sit a diving safety theory test before going in the water. I was a little scared as I had not revised my diving theory very thoroughly. To my surprise I did well on the test, after which we kitted up to go snorkeling. The sea was very choppy, especially in a small dinghy. The next day we started diving. The dives were spectacular and a special moment came when we saw a pod of about 15 dolphins swim past us and surface for a breath, then swim away. There were other big marine mammals as well, humpback whales being one of them. Sodwana was an amazing place with spectacular views; a very unique ecosystem. We dived everyday, no matter what the conditions were like. After each dive, our fast rib dinghy was run onto the beach so we could escape the surf. Two dives a day in those conditions was challenging but we really enjoyed the experience.
The trip included Mr Lee Wilson, Mrs Khalida Wilson, Rose Tweedie, Franky Sun, Siena Klinzing, Antio Zdunic and Shanaya Verghese.
Written by Rose Tweedie
Year 13 IBDP Learner
Summer facilities improvements at Nexus
Summer facilities improvements at Nexus
You may have noticed the new primary playground equipment that has appeared by the sports pitches. It has already proved extremely popular with our learners. Our thanks go to the facilities team for organising this, and many other renovations over the break, to keep Nexus in top condition right until the day we move!
Professional learning for Nexus academic staff
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Nexus is an empowering, learning-focused community. Ensuring those learning behaviours are visible across our community demonstrates that the vision statement is really alive. Last week all Primary and Single Subject Teachers began the new Academic year, participating in four IBO PYP Workshops. Our workshops were focused on Learner Agency and Personalisation, Concept Driven Inquiry and Innovative Learning Environments. The collaboration, new learning and resulting action plans for the year ahead will have a positive impact on our learners' experiences at Nexus.
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