Philosophy

Mission and vision

Mission

Novopecherska school offers an educational experience for students that reveals their learning potential. They will become independent, open-minded students, learn how to develop critical thinking skills and their talents, solve problems easily. That's how they will create better version of themselves and society. We provide compassionate caring and trusting environment, where students can develop ethical and spiritual qualities and the ability to understand others.

Vision 2021-2024

Novopecherska School is:

  • a child-centred school, where each student develops and learns to live with inspiration;
  • a modern space that unites like-minded people (students, parents, teachers) and inspires them to improve themselves and the world;
  • a place where successful students grow up - future leaders, architects of positive change with a big Ukrainian heart;
  • the territory of trust and opportunities for continuous development of students, parents, teachers;
  • effective teachers-innovators who have modern teaching methods and implement progressive ideas;
  • flagship and engine of educational innovations of Ukraine.

Parents’ part

We take to Novopecherska school not only a child, but his/her mother and father as well, and we see parents as active participants in educational process along with students and teachers. Education is not a two-way process of interaction between students and teachers, there is a third, equally important side — parents.

This approach is quite natural, because the family is an environment of primary socialization of the child, a source of emotional support, means of transmission and conservation values.

We expect the parents:

  • to believe in their child, take not only the strengths but also weaknesses of the child;
  • to desire to develop creativity and encourage manifestations of initiatives of their son or daughter;
  • to trust everyone who will work with the child: the school leaders, teachers, psychologists, since they are all professionals who are committed to their business, who look in one direction with you and are ready for dialogue and cooperation;
  • to have clear understanding that learning for a child is a kind of work that should be appreciated and perceived in the same way as parets' daily work;
  • to have interest for the child's school affairs and the willingness to inform the School if there are changes in child’s behavior;
  • to be tolerant to the thoughts, traditions and wealth of other families;
  • to support a healthy lifestyle;
  • to respect the Ukrainian language, culture and traditions.

We are always open to you and we are certain that together we will be able to fully achieve our goal.

Values

  • discovery of the potential of every child, promoting its creative and cognitive activity;
  • respect the child by giving the freedom of choice;
  • formation of teamworking skills, tolerance and ability to work effectively;
  • transparent and open relations between all participants of the educational process: students, teachers and parents;
  • child education using the best national and world traditions to create an open consciousness of modern citizens;
  • permanent development of teachers, improvement of their professional skills through motivation and self-improvement.

The 21st century skills

At the beginning of the 21st century more than 200 organizations and leading companies in the world have introduced a list of skills that young people need to be successful in today's globalized and changing world.

The purpose of the educational approach at Novopecherska school is to develop 21st century skills of our pupils. They are:

Educational and innovative skills

Creativity and innovation:

  • the ability to be original and innovative;
  • developing, implementing and communicating new ideas to others;
  • openness to new diverse perspectives;
  • working on creative ideas for making a meaningful and useful contribution to the branch of knowledge in which innovation is implemented.

Critical thinking and problem solving:

  • understanding links between ideas;
  • determining the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas;
  • recognising, building and appraising arguments;
  • approaching problems in a consistent and systematic way;
  • defining a problem;
  • determining and setting the essential questions to clarify the different points of view, allowing to make better decisions;
  • designing, analysing and synthesizing of information in order to solve problems and answer questions.

Communication and cooperation skills:

  • effective formulation of thoughts and ideas through their clear and understandable expression and writing;
  • demonstration of the efficient collaboration with various groups;
  • flexibility and willingness to use necessary compromises to implement common objectives;
  • taking responsibility for collaboration;
  • understanding the role of effective communication, creation and usage of its various types such as verbal, written and, also, by using multimedia tools in different forms and conditions.

Ability to work with information, media and computer:

Information awareness:

  • ability to find information quickly and effectively, evaluate it critically and competently, use it correctly and creatively to solve problems;
  • basic understanding of ethical / legal issues related to the information access and its use.

Media awareness:

  • understanding the characteristics and principles of media messages, their purposes, and what tools and conditions they are made with;
  • figuring out ways to interpret the information by different people, the inclusion or absence of different points of view, depending on media awareness messages, norms and values, ​​perspectives and understanding of how media can influence thought and behavior;
  • understanding the background and basic principles of ethical / legal issues related to  information access and its use.

ICT Awareness

  • appropriate use of digital technologies, tools and communication networks for accessing, managing, integrating, evaluating and creating data information in order to function in society successfully;
  • using computer technologies for communication, research, organization, assessment, and understanding of the ethical / legal issues related to information access and usage.

Life and career skills

Flexibility and adaptability

  • adaptation to different roles and levels of responsibility;
  • effective work in conditions of ambiguity and changing priorities;

Initiative and self direction

  • awareness of personal education and understanding needs for it;
  • going beyond the current skill requirements and study program to expand their own experience and reach educational goals;
  • taking initiative to improve skills to achieve a higher professional level;
  • set key learning objectives and reach them without any supervision;
  • efficient time management and workload distribution;
  • willingness and ability to learn throughout life.

Social and multicultural skills

  • proper and productive work with others;
  • using the group cooperative intelligence to achieve goals;
  • recognition of cultural differences and use different perspectives to increase innovation and work quality.

Productivity and ability to find out and consider quantitative indicators

  • establishment and following high standards and goals for qualified and well-timed performance;
  • demonstrating diligence and good work ethic e.g. punctuality and reliability.

Leadership and responsibility

  • using interpersonal and problem solving skills to influence others and maintain their goals;
  • using strengths of the others in oder to achieve a common goal;
  • reveiling honest and ethical behaviour;
  • activities in accordance with interests of a wide community.

Leader in Me

Novopecherska School uses the Leader in Me program to adapt the famous program by Stephen R. Covey "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" to the school environment in order to learn the skills of the 21st century and be ready for a successful life in the modern world. This program is distributed all over the world, and in Ukraine Novopecherska school is the first institution of education that works with it.

We have been working with Leader in Me since the foundation of the School and, according to world experience, we study and apply habits in primary school, and in secondary and high we practice it in the project work.

We constantly conduct activities aimed at mastering the Seven Habits:

Habit #1. Be Proactive

  • I am a responsible person.
  • I take initiative.
  • I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods.
  • I do not blame others for my wrong actions.
  • I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking.

Habit #2. Begin With the End in Mind

  • I plan ahead and set goals.
  • I do things that have meaning and make a difference.
  • I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school’s mission and vision.
  • I look for ways to be a good citizen.

Habit #3. Put First Things First

  • I spend my time on things that are most important. This means I say no to things I know I should not do.
  • I set priorities, make a schedule, and follow my plan.
  • I am disciplined and organized.

Habit #4. Think Win-Win

  • I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want.
  • I make deposits in others’ Emotional Bank Accounts.
  • When conflicts arise, I look for Third Alternatives.

Habit #5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

  • I listen to other people’s ideas and feelings.
  • I try to see things from their viewpoints.
  • I listen to others without interrupting.
  • I am confident in voicing my ideas.
  • I look people in the eyes when talking.

Habit #6. Synergize

  • I value other people’s strengths and learn from them.
  • I get along well with others, even people who are different from me.
  • I work well in groups.
  • I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others, we can create better solutions than anyone of us can alone.
  • I am humble.

Habit #7. Sharpen the Saw

  • I take care of my body by eating right, exercising, and getting sleep.
  • I spend time with family and friends.
  • I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just at school.
  • I find meaningful ways to help others.

 

The "Leader in Me" program helps students to develop harmoniously, realize their dreams, build positive relationships with others, feel happy, and group all students and staff into a single team.

Leader in Me Workshops

We really appreciate the involvement of parents in the school life of the child, so we introduced "Leader in me" master classes for parents.

A message about the time and place of the workshops will be sent to you in school mail.

We sincerely invite you to attend these events and study with your children!