Charlie travels all across the world to inspire and educate audiences about our environment and cultural differences and we were grateful that he was able to spend time visiting Nexus. He definitely created a great energy around setting goals and reaching out to achieve them, to take risks and be open minded. Some learners were lucky enough to purchase signed copies of his book, 'Through Sand and Snow'.

Michele Newman, Deputy Head of Secondary School

Eco challenge 2018

The EcoChallenge is a computer-based simulation game developed by the United Nations Environment Programme and DHI. Curtin University in Perth is instrumental administering the game and the EcoChallenge wouldn’t happen without their input. In the EcoChallenge players are required to make decisions about water management in order to create and maintain sustainable practices in industry, agriculture and power generation, as well as maintaining healthy ecosystems. The overarching idea is to illustrate to people the connections that exist between people, their actions and our environment.

This year was the fifth instalment of the EcoChallenge and we had 18 learners from Nexus competing. Competition amongst the group was strong, especially when it was realised that their scores would be on a leaderboard. While the atmosphere was definitely competitive, it was heartening to watch our learners sharing ideas, advice and strategies.

Most of our teams had scores of well over 10000 points, including one of over 30000 and two over 40000. This was a vast improvement on previous years and shows how much the Nexus learners have taken on board in their classes and through research done in their own time. The top 3 place getters in the Nexus EcoChallenge for 2018 event were as follows:

Max Havercroft; Grace Cain - 44873 points

James Hockey; Oscar White - 42686 points

Neo Klawunn; Mason Barnett - 32644

Well done to the top place getters, who will receive prizes of Google Play/iTunes gift cards. A big thanks goes to all the competitors who conducted themselves well and were respectful of each other. Thanks also to our marketing department for the great photographs.

Tony Hall, Event Organiser

Modern Farming Christmas Fair Booth

The Modern Farming CCA learners did a fantastic job during the Christmas fair and the weeks leading to it! We sold out of almost every potted plant we had, and made over 100 SGD in tokens and cash. We hope to donate the money to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to plant trees in the “tiger corridor” in Rimbang Baling, Indonesia to restore the last of the pristine rainforests and help save the homes of Sumatran tigers, pangolins, and perhaps countless other undiscovered species. Photos and updates of the trees will be sent to us so we can watch them grow!

This is a testament to all the hard work the learners have done to decorate pots and plant our herbs, and all the research they did on our plants. Special thanks goes out to all who helped make posters, price tags and decorated the booth, as well as to our team of sellers! You should be very proud of yourselves and the team!

Please visit the plant a tree website to learn about how you can plant a tree for someone this Christmas!

Sylvia Klinzing, Modern Farming Facilitator

Year 7 Humanities Trip to the Maritime Museum, Sentosa.

On Monday 10th December Year 7 learners visited the Maritime Museum on Sentosa to support their learning in the Humanities. The current unit in Humanities is focused on the importance of oceans and next term learners will be studying the factors that shaped the development of Singapore. The museum experience linked these two topics by showing learners the importance of oceans to a nation’s development. Year 7 learners were informed about the development of trade in the region and also learnt about the dangers on the oceans including piracy and typhoons. They even got to experience what it might feel like for sailors experiencing a typhoon during the typhoon theatre experience!

The Year 7s impressed the museum staff with their knowledge of the Chinese explorer Zheng He who they had studied in their primary years. It was great to see the learners making connections in their learning. Overall it was a positive learning experience and we are sure it will also help support learners understanding in their next unit on the development of Singapore.

Vicky Holdcroft, Learning Area Leader: Humanities