Primary News
18 April 2019
From our Head of Primary
"My child is having too much fun at school! Where are the worksheets? Shouldn't they have more homework?"
As parents we know that the world is shifting dramatically and that the future for our young learners will be very different to our own. This is quite a frightening prospect for many of us and this can lead to us thinking that the 'safe' educational paradigm that we were used to (with lots of 'busy' homework, classes with rows of individual desks, numerous worksheets and text books and certainly no fun!). In fact the opposite is true. All research tells us that children learn best when they feel safe, have fun, take risks, make mistakes and have more agency over what and how they learn.
We know that children thrive in inclusive and broad communities where we can each add to the richness of each other’s learning.
This shone through when we recently received the results of the annual benchmarking assessments we carry out in Years 3 to 6. We use the ACER International School Assessments (ISA). These tests are externally marked and are used by most prestigious international schools across the world to monitor student performance. Our results for 2018-2019 showed that once again learners in all year groups in both Reading and Mathematical Literacy outperformed their peers in other schools, both globally and in South East Asia. Nexus truly is an empowering learning-focused community!
A big part of the 'academic' success we achieve is based on the strong relationships between every part of our community. These last two weeks showcased the strength of these connections, with our fabulous NexFest'19, a captivating Book Week and our fabulous Swim Galas! (See recent events.) In the next few weeks there are even more opportunities to come together and celebrate the excellent learning taking place. There are drama workshops, an Earth Week, science shows, exhibitions, fairs, a music ensemble pop concert, a market day and trips... what a busy term ahead! (See Upcoming Events)
Our unique and innovative Nexus curriculum also allows children to engage in and follow their passions. As part of a Unit of Inquiry in Year 6 that took place earlier in the year, children were challenged to write, direct and produce their own films. We are delighted to announce that not one but two of our young learner's films (Kirsten and Orla) have been shortlisted for the Asian Youth Film Festival. Hundreds of films from the best international schools in 15 countries across Asia were judged and Kirsten and Orla's films are 2 of only 7 finalists for their age category. We wish them luck as their films are premiered this weekend in front of a live audience and the judging panel at the gala screening in Ho Chi Min, Vietnam.
We are asking our Nexus community to support the girls by voting for one of the films for the Audience Award of the festival. You can vote on the form at the bottom of the page of this link. Please take time to watch the girls' amazing films. (See Important Notices)
Finally, enjoy the long weekend. We wish our Christian families a blessed Easter time. We look forward to seeing you all back on Monday for the start of Earth Week 2019!
Best regards,
Paul.
Our New School
A few photos of our new school taking shape. The images include the tiling being completed in the 20m training pool and an aerial view of the area that will house the two competition-size gyms and the many bags of rubber pellets to create the massive undercover softplay area.
