NOVIA

Secondary 3 Northland Overseas Values in Action (NOVIA)
Northland Overseas VIA (NOVIA) is a signature school programme where the entire cohort of Secondary 3 students is given the opportunity to serve the Asian community.

Secondary 3 Northland Overseas Values in Action (NOVIA) at Batam, Indonesia

Our Northstars embarked on Batam NOVIA in three separate waves from 9 March to 15 March. Our Northstars contributed to Panti Asuhan Agape, an orphanage in a village outskirt. Across the span of three waves, our Northstars scraped the walls clean and gave it a fresh coat of paint. They filed wooden beams to help construct new cupboards. They also taught the beneficiaries simple conversational English and basic Mathematics. In the process, our Northstars truly lived out our vision of being Learners who Share, Citizens who Care and being Leaders who Dare. 

Secondary 3 Northland Overseas Values in Action (NOVIA) at Phnom Penh, Cambodia

This year, a group of Secondary 3 students had the opportunity to visit Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 11 to 14 March for their NOVIA experience. Our students spent half a day at Les Restaurant des Enfants (French for "Children's Restaurant"), where they prepared a meal of Hainanese Chicken Rice and served it to the street children who frequent the centre. In addition, some of them also helped to pack donated bread for the street children, trimmed their fingernails, taught them the proper way to wash their hands, and engaged in sports and games with them

Another half a day was spent at another local NGO, Cambodia Children for Educational Center (Cam.CEC), where our students taught the village children basic Mathematics and Zentangle doodle. Our Northstars also spent a full day at Krang Thong Primary School to interact with the students there through teaching English, Art & Craft, as well as playing games. The highlight was the clearing of the existing dilapidated parade square to construct a new, concrete one. The sheer physical work of breaking and removing rocks before applying a layer of cement under the hot sun built our students' resilience. Our Phnom Penh experience has indeed made our Northstars Learners who Share, Citizens who Care and Leaders who Dare.

Secondary 3 Northland Overseas Values in Action (NOVIA) at Ben Tre, Vietnam

Between 10 and 13 March 2019, some of our Secondary 3 Northstars had the opportunity to visit Ben Tre in Vietnam for their NOVIA experience. Our students spent time at An Khanh Primary School (Village Branch) in Ben Tre province, where they taught the Vietnamese primary school children basic English, Mathematics and Art. In the process of this intensive school exchange, they also learnt to understand more about the lives of the Vietnamese. To better the learning environment of the local students, our Northstars also repaved parts of the school's parade square, replace the concrete flooring of one of the classrooms with beautiful blue tiles, and painted two of the three classrooms in the school a lively yellow.

Our Northstars  truly lived out our School Vision of "Learners Who Share, Citizens who Care and Leaders who Dare" and our School Values of "Respect, Responsibility and Resilience" in the process of their Values in Action project. Despite the language barrier and tough nature of the physical works, which included mixing concrete and paving, our Northstars resiliently and responsibly strove to complete their tasks.

The Principal of An Khanh Primary School (Village Branch) as well as a local government official expressed their deepest appreciation to our Northstars and Northland Secondary School for their help. It was indeed a fruitful and meaningful trip that for our Northstars!

Secondary 3 Northland Overseas Values in Action (NOVIA) at Hainan, China

A group of dedicated student leaders, together with teachers left for Hainan, China from 10 to 15 March 2019. Upon reaching the small town, Guannan, the student leaders familiarised themselves with the surroundings of the primary school in which their VIA project was carried out. They planned, delegated and in the next 3 days, they worked tirelessly to improve the condition and beautify the school environment.

With the help of the locals, the student leaders firstly planted the 10 trees, which they raised money for. The student leaders then painted and beautified the school field by painting the wall that was surrounding the field. They also cleared a plot of land to make way for a vegetable farm, and made the local students happy by playing games such as Captain’s Ball and Basketball with them. The student leaders also taught the local children simple conversational English.

The student leaders also had the opportunity to interact with students their age at Shiyuan Experiential Middle School, in which they exchanged performances of dance and songs. This exchange has helped to enhance their global awareness, especially their understanding of China, and built their cross-competencies.

Our Northstars truly lived out our School Vision of "Learners Who Share, Citizens who Care and Leaders who Dare" and our School Values of "Respect, Responsibility and Resilience" in the process of their Values in Action project.