Principal’s Welcome

Dear Secondary School students and families,

Welcome to the academic year 2025-2026! Our team is excited to usher in a new school year that promises a safe and inclusive environment for your children in the respective programs they follow with us (MYP/DP). To those of you who are new to our community, thank you for trusting us with your child’s education. To all returning families and students, thank you for continuing to call NOVA your academic home!

We are looking forward to a year of enriching co-curricular and transdisciplinary learning experiences for our younger and older learners, be those through field trips, service as action projects, interdisciplinary units of study, Group 4 interactions, Personal Project and/or TOK Exhibitions, or Week Without Walls and CEESA activities. In a similar vein, we look forward to the next steps in the Professional Growth and Development policy for our faculty and staff, focusing on assessment and the hidden curriculum. This would include, but not be limited to, piloting the e-Assessments in the MYP as well as the Open Book Exam pilot in the DP. 

In the words of Paolo Frerie, a champion of critical pedagogy, “[k]nowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” Hence, we remain committed to a meaningful reimagining of student-centered learning, with emphasis on real-world skills as desired outcomes in a robust learning environment. 

Finally, continue to keep an eye out for our Secondary School Newsletter, make sure you activate your own Alma and Managebac profiles, and feel free to check out our Information desk for past recordings or access to other helpful resources.

Warmly, 

Bela Gligorova, PhD
Secondary School Principal