Our Curriculum
The nature of the education, and the curriculum taught at Brilliant star school is categorized in to two broad areas of spiritual and intellectual development.
Spiritual
The school started basically with spiritual education classes from the Ruhi institute book 3, aimed at nurturing spiritual qualities that raises certain spiritual attitudes in young children. The Ruhi institute is a sequence of 8 books being used and highly effective all over the world in diverse communities and peoples of all backgrounds and religions, developed in the Baha’i community worldwide through numerous experiences for the past 3 decades, aimed at imparting certain knowledge, specific skills and consolidating attitudes that enable a person to serve his/her community selflessly. The spiritual areas of teaching and accompaniment involve teaching Baha’i children’s classes grades 1, 2 and 3. From the Ruhi institute.
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
JYSEP is a 3-year program aimed at nurturing youngsters in the age 12-15, in the power of expression, spiritual perception, and developing a moral structure. To find out more, head to https://www.ruhi.org/materials/list.php#jy
Intellectual
The spiritual program covered at the school also consolidates intellectual learning. The junior youth texts for example are literature books which develop skills on comprehension, vocabulary, reading and writing and consultation on texts read. Children’s class involves memorization of prayers and quotations from the Baha’i holy writings in English language which we found highly effective at the school. Other materials have been supplied to the school from the Rays of light foundation in Papua New Guinea with Dawn breakers foundation in Philippines which covers Math, English and Science from the Philippines national elementary school curriculum. These materials are for grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. For Prep and Kindy, The school is using materials from Uganda, Africa. Materials for grades one and two had been supplied by Rays of Light foundation in Papua New Guinea. The school had bought copies of the Solomon Islands school curriculum but found it inadequate because there are not enough supplies and to buy enough is very expensive.
Teachers
Teacher’s capacity building materials
Almost all of the teachers at the Brilliant star have not been through formal teacher’s training except one. However, they have demonstrated sacrificial efforts and commitments that build their capacity in the teaching field. The system of capacity building for teachers at the Brilliant star is facilitated by one of its teachers Mr. Michael Oritaimae, with capacity building materials provided by Rays of light foundation in Papua New Guinea. These materials are as follows:
1. Ruhi institute: Books 1 – 8.
2. (Africa)Nosrat institute: Starting quality school.
3. (Africa)UBID Materials Uganda: 3 units: Unit 1: concept positive school environment. Unit 2: Qualities and attitudes of teachers. Unit 3: Classroom organization and management. Unit 4: The school.
4. Jolly phonics 9 weeks reading program
5. Preparation for social action (PSA).Text: Properties, classification, heating and cooling, Environmental issues, numerical statement, nurturing young minds, planting crops.
6. Elementary teacher’s guide (kindy, teacher’s guide)
7. Study of the letters from Universal House of Justice and the Office of socio-economic department, Baha’i world center, Haifa. Israel.
The teachers at the school operates more on the principle of service to the community, and for the preceding five years the number has changed as individuals would offer service for a period of time and move on to do other things in life. The total number of human resources that have been involved as full time teachers and part time and volunteers numbered up to 35 individuals for the past 5 years.
The number of active teachers for 2016 is;
- Primary/ECE = 6 teachers
- Secondary (form one) = 4 Teachers
.
Baha’i Children Class Teachers and Junior Youth Animators
These classes are very popular at the school and a specific day is allocated for these spiritual classes. The effects of these spiritual programs on the students of Brilliant star are remarkable. These classes and program also welcomes the participation of the neighbouring Baha’i community of Tabuariki youths who on occasion would come in numbers to teach children’s class and animate junior youth groups, and a very enriching consultation experience sharing process would normally took place by the teachers and animators after the classes. Experiences would be shared and learning be captured and new approaches be adopted. Some of the teachers of these children classes are junior youths who are themselves students. They have been accompanied, reflected with, their confidence raised, their knowledge developed and their capacity enhanced
