Deaf Education Principals’ Association South Africa NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2019
DEPASA
D E P A S A Deaf Education Principals Association – South Africa 13 Delphinus Street, Lenasia, 1812 Tel: 011 787-5430/ 0825616691 / 0718775914 (SMS) www.depasa.org Newsletter 03 (Feb 2019)
Mission of DEPASA: To promote transformation and leadership in D/deaf and hard of hearing education.
Vision of DEPASA: Members of the Deaf Education Principal’s Association – South Africa recognize and acknowledge their role as educational managers and leaders. Through our collective and professional conduct at local, provincial and national levels, strive to excel in our task through self-development and interaction as an independent, nondiscriminatory and nonaligned association
DEPASA Congratulates all Matriculants who Wrote the Inaugural
2018 SASL HL Examination 58 matrics from 10 schools for the Deaf wrote the SASL HL exam. Special mention goes to the following schools who excelled in the 2018 NCS SASL HL Exam:
Sizwile School for the Deaf (Gauteng) Maria Morgan placed first nationally for SASL HL
KwaThintwa School for the Deaf (KZN) Thabile Qondani placed second nationally for SASL HL
Dominican School for the Deaf (Western Cape) Ancillia Julius placed third nationally for SASL HL
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SAVE THE DATE and 18th May 2019
DEPASA is incredible proud of all learners who wrote the SASL exams and commends everyone on their excellent results.
17th
DEPASA Conference Theme: “Doing the right thing on a difficult day”
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To all schools for the Deaf, teaching and non-teaching staff we salute you and acknowledge the effort, dedication and loved you gave to your learners for them to have achieved such promising results. We excitedly await the 2019 examinations and hope that we all feel calmer and more prepared for the next SASL HL exam.
The voice of Principals of schools for Deaf learners -
SAVE THE DATE!!!
DEPASA CONFERENCE
DEPASA Conference
“Doing the right thing on a difficult day”
17th – 18th May 2019
What does this mean for a principal, managing a school with Deaf learners?
Gauteng Wits University – Centre for Deaf Studies Registration Fee: R1900 per attendee. Please note that travel and accommodation will not be included in the cost of the conference.
Join us in May and find out We hope to see everyone present at our exciting conference. This is an event that is not to be missed. We urge all principals and deputy principals to attend this conference and let our ‘voices’ be ‘heard’ as we promote quality education for all D/deaf learners. The programme and keynote speakers will be announced shortly so make sure you keep track of all emails and communication. All registration will be done through online registration at www.DEPASA.org.
Excepted Highlights and Topics • • • • •
Literacy within Deaf Education School Hostels Grade 12 examinations Accountability Teachers at Schools for the Deaf
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Please note that all membership fees for 2019 are due. We urge all members to ensure that their fees are paid and up to date. This ensures the smooth running of the Association. 1. Principals and Deputy Principals can become members of DEPASA 2. Schools pay R1100 per school(2019) to become a member of DEPASA 3. For more information, visit the website: www.DEPASA.org Principals, deputies and all interested parties who play a pivotal role in improving Deaf Education in South Africa, ‘lend a hand…..be there’
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The voice of Principals of schools for Deaf learners -
SAVE THE DATE!!!
DEPASA MET WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION EXAMINATION UNIT
DEPASA Conference
25th January 2019
17th – 18th May 2019
The executive members of DEPASA met with Dr. Poliah, Director of Examinations, Mr. Christo Thurston, CES in the Examinations Unit and Mr. Stanton Van Schalkwyk, DCES in the Inclusion Unit.
Gauteng Wits University – Centre for Deaf Studies Registration Fee: R1900 per attendee. Please note that travel and accommodation will not be included in the cost of the conference.
DEPASA heard the concerns from the schools with Grade 12 learners for the subject: SASL in 2019. We are pleased to report on the following An examination management plan for Grade 12 will be drawn up for 2019. This should be received by the end of February. Should a teacher be required to attend training or any workshop etc. the principal will be informed first and then the teacher concerned. SASL Head of Departments, (HoDs) at school will be included in the DOE training programme. The HoD teacher must be in a position to moderate the SASL as per CAPS assessment policy outline.
There will be no preliminary examinations for SASL in 2019, the SASL examination is the costliest examination of all subjects by virtue of its visual nature.
Don’t Forget to Pay your Membership Fees
There will be no preliminary examinations for SASL in 2019, the SASL examination is the costliest examination of all subjects by virtue of its visual nature. In 2019 – all set-works will remain the same as for 2018. Screening for 2020 will be done in 2019. Training for teachers, examiners/moderators will be done over weekends/school holidays, to minimize disruptions in service delivery at schools, as far as possible. DEPASA will send a list of all potential examiners. Moderation at provincial level will be standardized and will ensure that all schools who have Grade 12 SASL NCS, will be granted equal opportunity for their SBA components. DEPASA will compile a list of LTSM service providers, additional to the list that is used by DBE.
Ms. Parkin will provide details regarding an app to facilitate SASL assessments at all schools for possible implementation for all grades. DEPASA is to seek recognition from DBE, the DDG, Mr. Mweli regarding the role, purpose, objectives and membership of DEPASA.
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The voice of Principals of schools for Deaf learners -
SAVE THE DATE!!! DEPASA Conference 17th – 18th May 2019 Gauteng Wits University – Centre for Deaf Studies Registration Fee: R1900 per attendee. Please note that travel and accommodation will not be included in the cost of the conference.
DEAF EDUCATION UPDATES What exciting things are happening in Deaf Education across South Africa
Gauteng Education Department have embarked on a pilot project introducing SASL as a communicative approach to hearing learners in Grade 5. This is the MEC of Gauteng’s initiative, with the assistance of the 7 schools for Deaf in Gauteng. The teaching is managed strictly by Deaf facilitators who go out weekly and teach basic SASL communication to hearing learners. There are 28 mainstream schools in this project, with 1025 hearing learners learning basic SASL for 10 weeks. We are hoping that the MEC will extend this project to continue for 2019, as many schools principals have asked for the other hearing learners also to engage in SASL.
Congratulations on the Life Time Achievement Award
Kwa Zulu Natal, principal, Ms. Normathemba Ndlovu, principal of Kwavulindlebe School for the Deaf won Life time Achievement award in the NTAs, the National Teacher’s Award. She has was fortunate to be selected with Learning Academy-Wisehub, to travel to Europe for further exploration and gain meaningful insight. DEPASA wishes “Norma” as she is fondly called all the best for the future.
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The voice of Principals of schools for Deaf learners -