Pinto Belo João: A determined teacher and a collaborative planner
“Being a teacher is not easy, because we have to teach and learn every day. I chose a career in teaching because I like to share what I know with others, especially young people, to help them to overcome the challenges in life. Being a teacher is like taking care of something special, so I decided to take care of that special thing, walking together in order to discover the world around us.”
Pinto Belo João is a grade 2 teacher at the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo. Born in Maputo, Mozambique, Pinto attended a teacher training course in Matola in 2007 where he became a primary teacher and then attended Pedagogical University in 2011 to study education. He came to the Academy as part of the Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP), which was established by the Aga Khan Academies to train recent teacher graduates to become International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers.
“Honestly I didn’t know many things about the Academy before I joined, but I always was eager to learn and grow professionally,” says Pinto. Through the Aga Khan Academy, Pinto says he has grown professionally in terms of learning new approaches to teaching and learning, trying new things and giving himself a chance to learn more. “Through professional development, the Academy helped me become a more effective teacher and a collaborative planner,” he says proudly.
For Pinto, the most rewarding aspect of the Aga Khan Academy is teaching while surrounded by experts. This environment has given him the opportunity to try new things and granted him time to reflect on teaching strategies. This has been both valuable and powerful for Pinto as it allowed him to share experiences related to classes and receive guidance and support from others. What Pinto really likes about the Academy is the integration of the Aga Khan Curricular Strands. “In my opinion these Strands make us unique and different from others,” he says.
Reflecting on enlightening experiences at the Academy, Pinto narrates a particular day when he was teaching mathematics through games. He says that while he was giving instructions on how to play the game he was surprised to see the students already playing the game before he could even finish explaining. “I learned something that day: we should never underestimate our students. Sometimes we think that we have to teach something, but the students already know it. We need to be careful in our approaches,” Pinto remarks.
In this way, Pinto has learnt profoundly from his students and feels that the teacher-student relationship, reinforced by trust, is of the utmost importance. “We need to establish trust so that the process runs toward success both inside and outside the classroom,” he says.
Relationships in the classroom must also involve parents – Pinto knows the importance and necessity of parental involvement in the education of their children. He regularly updates the parents about what they do in class and about their school trips – he also ensures that he shows parents the newsletter with stories of learning from the classroom. Some of the homework Pinto assigns includes parent personal experiences that they can share with their children.
At the Academy, Pinto says they try as much as they can to involve all students in activities and give each of them a role in groups to make them appreciate each other’s abilities. “By promoting activities like social community, [this] makes the students reflect on their own actions,” he remarks. Pinto explains that students come from different backgrounds and nationalities and that this is what makes the residential environment multicultural and promotes pluralism. When the students are exposed to this environment, Pinto says, “They learn more from each other and respect diversity. It is a great experience for them.” Ensuring a climate of pluralism on campus is not an easy task, Pinto says. “But through student’s responsibilities, we can ensure that they are working together.”
Latest Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP) cohort celebrates graduation ceremony at AKA Mombasa
First cohort of Teacher Preparation Programme fellows graduate at the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka
Ayaan Allarakhia: sharing his voice to inspire others
Since he was 4-years-old, Ayaan Allarakhia has had a passion for music that has shaped his whole life. Over the years, the 14-years-old Grade 9 student at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya has developed and strengthened his musical and performance skills. Now, after writing and releasing his own song and music video, Ayaan is on a mission to spread his love for music to all.
Born and raised in Mombasa, Kenya, Ayaan, whose stage name is ‘Soul Prince’, sees music not only as a source of entertainment but as an essential part of everyone’s lives through different aspects. Ayaan especially admires the power music holds as it can strengthen relations amongst people and allow for an appreciation of various cultures.
“Music plays a vital role in my emotional, intellectual and physical life. It impacts the way I work, relax, behave and feel. Music also helps me bond with others in the sense that it helps me interact with other musicians around the world who share equivalent interests as me. Something I especially love about music is its power and how it can change the minds of millions if it’s addressed correctly in a rightful manner, and the power it has over one’s emotions.”
Gifted a toy piano by his parents for his fourth birthday, Ayaan has since continued and expanded his passion for music. Through the support of his teachers, classmates and school leadership at AKA Mombasa, Ayaan has performed at numerous school events, including a TEDx Talk at the Academy where he performed his original piece, I Take a Vow.
Ayaan said this support is also extended through the Academy’s music classes, resources and opportunities provided. Through this, he has been able to access different instruments and participate in music-related extracurricular activities and competitions, such as the Kenya Music Festival, in which he has won on numerous occasions. According to Ayaan, all of this has benefitted him as he progresses in the Academy’s International Baccalaureate (IB) programme and his school workload increases.
“The Academy has assisted me in many ways since I started music. Firstly, the Academy gave me a lot of different opportunities to perform at school assemblies and other events and share my ambition with others, which is to inspire the youth to participate in music activities. This also gave me the confidence I needed to express myself in front of large groups of people. And since managing my time and my school workload are some major challenges I face, I feel like my music career is still supported by the Academy offering music classes as a subject. Through this, I gain a lot of musical knowledge and learn about different music theories, which help me in understanding and building new tunes.”
Michael Lizotte, the Academy’s music director who joined this past August, said he has been able to sense Ayaan’s passion for music since the day he met him.
“When Ayaan first arrived in my Grade 9 music class, I remember hearing his lovely tenor voice and nice low range, which almost made me feel like I was listening to the famous singer, songwriter and musician Roy Orbison,” Michael said. “Ayaan is very inquisitive with anything about music, and we often meet to discuss styles, progressions, production and presentation. Ayaan really goes out well beyond classroom work and knows music will be part of his life’s work as he continues to study, learn and share.”
This was all just the beginning of Ayaan’s music career. In October 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was, and still is, impacting numerous lives and causing hardships in Kenya, Ayaan wrote and released his first-ever Swahili song called Unaweza, or ‘You can’. The song was accompanied by a music video as well, which has over 12,000 views on YouTube and was shot on the 18-acre campus of the Academy featuring teachers and students from the Academy.
“Because of the global pandemic, many people around the world are facing major problems socially, economically and mentally,” Ayaan said. “My target audience was the people in Kenya as a lot of people here were suffering economically and mentally. Therefore, I wanted people to know that this pandemic is just a passing cloud and to remind people that we can stay strong during this trying time.”
Since the release of Unaweza, Ayaan said he has received many positive responses, giving him the boost to pursue additional music projects and write more songs, which he said will be released soon. For his future, Ayaan hopes to continue broadening his music career and share his love for music with others.
“In the future, I hope to continue being a singer a songwriter, while also inspiring and encouraging people around the world to pursue music. My dream is to have everyone around the world engage with music, and share their emotions, culture and identity through music.”
Watch Ayaan’s music video for Unaweza below:
Diploma Programme
The Aga Khan Academy Maputo has received authorisation as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School offering the IB Diploma Programme (DP). The programme is offered to students (aged 16–19) in the final two years of school.
The Diploma Programme is a demanding, pre-university-level course of studies. It is internationally recognised by over 2,000 universities worldwide.
The DP has a reputation for rigorous assessment of student achievement. Each student’s performance and levels of knowledge are examined internally by teachers according to set criteria. They are also assessed externally by independent examiners according to global standards applied to all IB schools.
Our students study all the subjects covered in a traditional, broad curriculum, including languages, social sciences, experimental sciences, mathematics and the arts. The DP also takes the curriculum a step further through three unique programmes:
- theory of knowledge
- creativity, activity, service
- extended essay.
Theory of knowledge
Theory of knowledge (TOK) is an interdisciplinary requirement unique to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It encourages students to reflect on the knowledge they gain both inside and outside the classroom.
One hundred hours of classroom time are dedicated to the TOK programme. We challenge our students to question the nature of knowledge across disciplines, to recognise biases and to analyse evidence using rational thought and argument. By making our students consider and appreciate different perspectives, TOK contributes towards a pluralistic outlook.
Creativity, activity, service
Creativity, activity, service (CAS) is an important component of the IB curriculum and is required for every DP student at the Academy. Our students participate actively in a variety of creative endeavours, physical activities and community service projects. They develop self-confidence, teamwork and leadership skills, and a sense of civil responsibility.
Students take part in sustainable projects that have real and lasting effects on the greater Maputo community. They develop strength of character and an understanding of their ability to bring about change.
The CAS programme is valued for its power to transform the lives not only of students but also the people they work with. It serves as a platform for interpersonal exchange, personal growth and greater understanding of the issues we face as a global community.
Extended essay
The extended essay requires students to pick a subject of their choice and research and develop it into a 4,000-word essay. Students may choose to investigate a subject from one of their higher-level courses more deeply. Or they can broaden their academic experience by researching a subject in a field they are not currently studying.
Through the extended essay, we introduce students to the kind of independent research and writing skills expected at the university level.
Career-related Programme
The Academy is a Candidate School* for the Career-related programme.
*Only schools authorised by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorisation will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org.
For further information on the IB Diploma Programme at the Academy, please see the admission requirements or contact us.
The Times of India: School With Difference Nurtures Pluralism
Nikhila Henry, from The Times of India, describes her visit to The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, where she experiences first-hand how the Academy bridges diverse cultural and economic backgrounds, providing students with a rich learning environment that encourages pluralism and free thinking.
The Hindu: Creating leaders for civil society
The Hindu features the story of Salim, a student from a small Kenyan village who is benefiting from a free of cost world-class education, in the international and culturally rich environment of The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa. Salim’s story illustrates how the Academy strives to give exceptional students of all socio-economic backgrounds an all-round education so that they become the leaders of civil society.
The Times of India: Aga Khan Academy gets going in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Aga Khan Academy, a state of the art international school belonging to the Aga Khan network of institutions was formally inaugurated in presence of spiritual leader Aga Khan in an elaborate ceremony on the academy premises in Shamshabad on Friday.
Firstpost: The Aga Khan Academy at Hyderabad formally launched
The Firstpost reviews the inauguration of The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad with a quick look at the Academy’s trajectory: from the foundation stone laying ceremony in 2005, to the opening of its doors to students in 2011, to its professional development centre for teachers and its part in the growing network of Academies that will span across Africa, the Middle East and Central and South Asia.
The Indian Express: Aga Khan Academy opens in Hyderabad
The Indian Express gives us a brief review of the official inauguration of The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad, an important event which included the presence of His Highness the Aga Khan as well as the Honourable Chief Minister N Kiram Kumar Reddu and the Honourable Union HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju.
