We will celebrate Deepavali in school on Friday 13th October, the last day of term. It is a normal full uniform day but learners can wear an Indian accessory to school, maybe a bangle, an indian duppata (scarf) or even a bindi.

Interdisciplinary learning has been embedded into primary, middle and higher educational curriculums as a way in which to respond to the changing skillset required by our 21st Century learners. This model of teaching and learning promotes critical and creative thinking skills, encourages students to solve problems and provides powerful opportunities for both learners and staff to collaborate through a range of conceptual lenses. Our learning exhibitions provide an opportunity to showcase the work of our learners in different ways and our first exhibition for this year is fast approaching. Our Year 7 learners are excited to share their unit: ‘How I represent myself to the World’ which draws curriculum connections across English, Science, Drama, Music and Art using the context of Identities and Relationships.

We welcome families to view the work of their children in the MPR from 2pm until 3pm on Thursday 12th October, beginning with a short musical introduction followed by an opportunity to wander around the space and chat with all the learners about their experiments, videos of the drama process, Symbols of Me iMovies and written compositions. We look forward to welcoming Year 7 parents and guardians next week.

Michele Newman

Deputy Head of Secondary

newman.m@nexus.edu.sg

Operation Wallacea (OpWall) is a world class organisation that designs and implements biodiversity and conservation management research expeditions. There is an opportunity for learners in Years 11, 12 and 13 to join the June 2018 expedition to South Africa.

For their first week in South Africa the learners will based in Kruger National Park Reserve, the leading national park of South Africa and home to the iconic big game species. The majority of large game reserves are fenced to mitigate human/wildlife conflicts but this method of conservation is not without problems. Students will be collecting data used by a South Africa NPO (not for profit organisation) to monitor the effect large herbivores such as elephants have on the enclosed reserves and ensure that this practice is monitored and evaluated so conservation goals are achieved.

During this week they will learn bush training skills such as safe distances for viewing game, identifying tracks and how to use a GPS and compass for navigation. They will then take part in various surveys such as Game Transects by vehicle to monitor large mammal populations, bird point counts and elephant impact surveys (looking at grass density, tree structure and levels of elephant damage).

For the second week the group will move to Sodwana Bay, part of the iSimangaliso Wetlands, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here they can learn to dive to PADI Open Water level or, if they are already dive trained or wish to snorkel, complete an Indian Ocean reef ecology course.

Students who join the programme will experience the scientific research first hand, strengthen their CV and collect data for a dissertation or thesis. IB Learners could use the expedition as a focus for their extended essay project, and the expedition covers key aspects of biology and geography syllabuses. The trip also provides significant contribution towards CAS for Year 12 learners.

Although the information session was last Monday, it is not too late to sign up. Information about OpWall can be found here. Please contact me on the email address below if you have any questions.

Lee Wilson (Trip Leader)

Director of Learning Technologies

wilson.l@nexus.edu.sg