The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

Last Friday and Saturday, 39 learners took part in a practice Adventurous Journey as part of their training for the Bronze Level of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. In groups of six or seven, they set off from school, navigating up the green corridor and around Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, carrying their tent and other equipment including a cooking stove. When they arrived back at school they set up camp and cooked their evening meal, before sleeping and striking camp in the morning, heading towards West Coast Park via the canal and Park Connector Network and returning to school around lunch time.

This was for many the first time that they had been totally self sufficient and the mini expedition took place during a hot weekend. Participants got to know their team members and their strengths as well as their weaknesses. They learned some lessons from their packing mistakes and worked around problems, committing to getting it right next time! Others lost their way and as a result had to walk significantly further, but all persevered, navigating back to school to complete the first part of their practical training. Over the next week or so, each group will be debriefed on their performance, share their reflections and discuss their next steps and further training needs. The plan will be shared with both parents and participants once details are confirmed. When groups are ready, final arrangements will be made for the Qualifying Adventurous Journey.

Please note, all participants have been allocated an Award Leader and should by now have made contact with them to propose their activities for the different sections of the Award, (Voluntary Service, Skill and Physical Recreation). If unsure, they should approach their Award Leaders. Participants must note the details of their proposed activity, outline their SMART goals and give the details of an instructor who will comment on their progress and sign off the Section when completed. When it has been approved, participants must log each time they take part in an activity, using the ORB Participant app.

Mr Andy Jefferson, Subject Leader: European Languages

The 2019 Junior Achievement Company of the Year Competition- National Finals update

‘ECOCASE’ represented by Shanan Verly, Sergio Saifullah, Robin Khaou and Crystal Ma (with Hanyu Jiang supporting) on Saturday 2nd February, at Nanyang Junior College. They all did themselves and Nexus proud, presenting their business and learning journey to the judges. It was a demanding day, requiring an interview, presentation, trade stand and screening of their advert.

There were no prizes this year but they did an amazing job, learnt many valuable lessons and also had a lot of fun. Well done to all team members!

Jim Bevan, Y12/13 Phase Leader

Year 9 Humanities Trip to visit HMS Montrose

On Thursday 14th February Year 9 Humanities learners were privileged to be given a tour around the HMS Montrose. The ship is currently stationed in Singapore and learners were able to find out about the changing nature of Britain’s relationship with Singapore which relates to their current Humanities unit, The Independence of Singapore. The crew of the ship also talked about many of the humanitarian projects they have been involved in such as the removal of plastic waste from the waters surrounding several Caribbean islands.

Our learners were really interested in what life was like for the crew living in such confined spaces for long periods of time and were particularly impressed by the quality of the food that was cooked for them all! Our learners asked some excellent questions throughout the tour and learnt a lot about the role of military forces in the modern day.

Ms Vicky Holdcroft, Learning Area Leader: Humanities

Computer Science Trip to National Super Computer Centre

On Thursday 14th February, Year 12 Computer Science learners spent an afternoon at Singapore’s National Supercomputer Centre. The facility, located in Fusionopolis, is home to the ASPIRE-1 supercomputer. It’s the only petascale (very fast!) machine in ASEAN and currently 442nd fastest in the world. After a technical briefing in which we learned of plans to build a much faster system next year, staff from NSCC explained how ASPIRE-1 is used for complex climate modelling as well as to process data from several Universities in Singapore.

We were able to explore the machine itself and see first hand how their unique warm water cooling system prevents the onboard processors from overheating. Our guide went on to explain how ultra efficient lithium-ion batteries ensure that even in the event of a power cut, the machine can remain operational. It was a very interesting trip and gave a unique insight into the world of high performance supercomputing.

Mr Lee Wilson, Director of Learning Technologies