As the week before the start of a new cohort of students, we find ourselves wondering where the time went. This past week has been a whirlwind of tying up loose ends, enhancing our curriculum, squeezing in vital training and development sessions, and tackling the multitude of administrative tasks that come with running our academy.
A long overdue welcome to Nalaka who joined us as Academy Services Manager on 14 August and is streamlining all finance, operations and other Academy services from a broader perspective. As we evolve, grow and head into new and uncharted territory it will be great to have his expertise bring diverse views and perspectives to the team.
He has summed up his two weeks with us so far:
“Amazing two weeks with many new learnings. I love my new role and the culture at Avinya. Experienced, talented and fun-loving team to work with that feels like a family.”
Our amazing new website courtesy Code 94 Labs is simmering on the stove with final touches and we can’t wait to reveal that to you shortly.
All the while, we’ve also been diligently ensuring that our campus is in pristine condition to welcome our incoming students and juggling an intensive IT vocational component where students have now progressed to the end of the foundation program and will start working their way through the University of Moratuwa Trainee Full Stack Developer course.
“School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” – Lon Watters
While we don’t have a lot of walls in our Academy 🙂 We definitely aim to focus on nurturing the potential of ‘tomorrow’ within all our students.
Preparing for the start of a new course is a bit like orchestrating a production. Just like in a play, every detail must be meticulously attended to, and every team member plays a crucial role, front and center, to ensure our students have an exceptional learning journey.
Here’s our checklist as we gear up in the final week leading up to this new course
Looking ahead, what do we need to do to ensure a smooth transition into that inevitably hectic first week? Those of us in education understand that no matter how meticulously we plan, there will always be last-minute surprises that have the potential to throw us off course. What makes us grow is the ability to stay adaptable, think quickly, and embrace the unexpected challenges that come our way. Most of all, to carry that sense of humor that helps one deal with the curveballs and have some fun along the way!
“No school without spectacular eccentrics and crazy hearts is worth attending.” – Saul Bellow
So, what do we want to achieve in our first week?
- Set up well-defined guidelines and daily routines.
- Lay the foundation to establish strong, lasting relationships with homeroom teachers.
- Encourage the development of self-confidence among our students, fostering belief in their own capabilities and potential achievements.
- Demonstrate the unique approach to learning that Avinya offers, along with our guiding principles.
From the last point we return to the essence of our approach. What is our fundamental Academy ethos?
It takes me back to one of the very first training sessions with the team late last year where we articulated our five core values.
These values will remain at the heart of our educational journey, guiding us towards providing a transformative learning experience for these students who need to gain belief and confidence in themselves again.