Our Mission
What We Stand For
Transoranje School for the Deaf provides specialised education to profoundly Deaf learners, from the age of 3 years up to Grade 12. Transoranje School is a Public School and a Non-Profit Organization 001-599 NPO / PBO930016729).
MISSION
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We are providing quality education and training to optimise the learners’ potential.
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We provide optimal utilisation of available resources.
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We are instilling acceptable morals, values and norms.
Our Vision
Teaching the Professionals of tomorrow
The vision of the Transoranje School for the Deaf is that every learner feels valued and inspired by our innovative education system.
Our Funding
Sponsors allow us to help our deaf LEARNERS
Although Transoranje receives subsidies from the Gauteng Department of Education we also need donations and sponsors. Most of our learners come from impoverished homes. The school needs assistance with funding to provide for all the unique needs of a learner with Deafness.
Service Sponsorship
To qualify for service sponsorship, please contact the principal @ transoranjeprincipal@gmail.com
There are strict rules for accepting sponsorships from individuals and companies, and compliance is a safety necessity.
However, sponsorships are welcomed. If you would like to sponsor us with goods, please download the Transoranje-School-Wishlist-202103 to see the needs of the school and the children.
Donations
We appreciate cash sponsorships as well as goods, delivered to the school. If you want to sponsor us, please download the Transoranje School for the Deaf Wishlist 2022 to see what the school and the children need.
Cash donations
Please EFT your cash donation to:
ACCOUNT HOLDER: Transoranje Skool vir Dowes
BANK: ABSA Cheque account
BRANCH CODE: 630664
ACCOUNT NO: 040840311
REFERENCE: Donation, Your name and/or Company name
Email your POP and contact details to transoranje2@gmail.com
If you need a Sec 18A tax-deductible receipt for your cash donation, contact transoranjefinances@gmail.com before you make the payment.
Fundraising
The school has two sponsoring bodies that assist with funding:
- Deafability (previously known as Transoranje NPC) has been managing the fundraising for the school since 2000. Visit the website for more information: https://deafability.co.za/
- TOIBO (Transoranje Institute) is the founder of the school. They raise funds for 5 schools (Transoranje, Transvalia, Prinshof, Sonitus, and Martie du Plessis). For more information, please visit the https://toibo.org.za/
Our Curriculum
Phases
Pre-School Phase
The HOD for the Pre-School Phase is Ancri Swanepoel. The Pre-School Phase is for learners from Age 3 to Grade R.
In the Pre-Primary Phase, there are 5 classes with trained staff and Deaf assistants who assist teachers. South African Sign Language classes enable us to maintain high standards in teaching SASL, our language of teaching and learning.
Learners start school from 3 years up to Grade R. We follow a full programme throughout the day. We follow the CAPS curriculum which is adapted accordingly for each Grade level. We implemented the New Language Programme which consists of Storytelling and learning new vocabulary.
The three Learning areas, Home Language (SASL), Mathematics and Life Skills, are taught according to different themes.
Assessments take place continuously during each term and reports are given out to parents at the end of the term.
Foundation Phase
The Foundation Phase is for learners in Grades 1 to 3.
In the Foundation Phase, our focus is on the holistic learner, where we develop the skills necessary for our learners to become valuable members of society, upstanding citizens, as well as independent and confident learners. Each Teacher in the department holds a professional teaching qualification and aims to identify each learner’s individual strengths to enhance and grow them and enable them to reach their potential. All classes have the aid of a Deaf teaching assistant who not only assists with teaching and classroom duties but also functions as a much-needed role model to the learners of both sign language and deaf culture.
The Foundation Phase department caters for learners between the ages of 6 and 12. We follow the CAPS curriculum set out by the Department of Education. In addition, we cater to learners with intellectual challenges and offer a multigrade DCAPS class that follows the official differentiated CAPS curriculum set out by the Department of Education.
For learners who enter school after the age of 8 for the first time and are yet to develop any language, we also have an ‘out-of-school’ class, which covers all skills necessary for school readiness, but mainly focuses on sign language to lay the foundation for communication and their future schooling career. The academic programme for all of our classes is rich and dynamic, offering flexibility where teachers can meet the needs of individual learners yet still maintain targeted curriculum outcomes.
Classes are kept small, with 5 to 10 learners per class, giving a high teacher-to-learner ratio, all a personal interaction for learners and teachers and support for each learner on an individual level according to their specific needs. We run an internal sports programme where our learners participate in soccer, netball, athletics and other sports.
Intermediate phase
The Intermediate Phase is for learners in Grades 4-6, with 9 teachers.
There are six (6) subjects in the phase, namely: South African Sign Language (HL), Mathematics, English (FAL), Social Sciences, Natural Sciences/Technology and Life Skills.
Learners in this phase are between middle childhood and early adolescence stage. Coming from the foundation phase, learners are still finding themselves and going through puberty (physical and emotional development). The phase moulds and equips them with the necessary tools to prepare them for the next phase (Senior Phase).
The phase follows the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS curriculum). To prevent the learner from being retained in this phase for longer than four years, a learner may only be progressed once. School-Based Assessment (SBA) is compulsory for promotion marks.
Dedication to education and teamwork among teachers is crucial in this phase; they build resources that accommodate Deaf learners to ensure the quality of their education. They use each other’s experience and expertise as another form of resource to empower the learner.
Parents’ involvement is essential in the Intermediate Phase. Parents are encouraged to support learning South African Sign Language (SASL). There is a WhatsApp group for parents to foster communication. Educational excursions planned in the Intermediate Phase are linked to the curriculum.
Senior phase
The Senior Phase is for learners in Grades 7 to 9.
The Senior Phase of Transoranje has the most vibrant teachers and what is nice about it is that we have grade 7 included in the high school so they can be acclimated soon and adjust to their new environment with hopes that they will strive in their academics. We push our learners to do their best in preparation for the FET.
The subjects we currently offer in the senior phase are as follows:
- Mathematics
- English
- South African Sign Language
- Technology
- Economic Management Sciences
- Life Orientation
In the next three to four years, we plan to implement the phasing in of the following subjects:
- Creative Art
- Natural Sciences
- Social Science
We follow the CAPS curriculum with the hope that it will prepare the learners for the FET and also help those who wish to further their studies beyond High school.
FET phase
The FET Phase is for learners in Grades 10 to 12.
In the Transoranje Further Education and Training (FET) phase, we follow the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum. We aim to equip our learners to finish grade 12 with an endorsed National Senior Certificate (NSC) with six subjects.
The subjects we currently offer in the FET phase are:
- Mathematical Literacy
- English First Additional Language (FAL)
- South African Sign Language (SASL)
- Computer Applications Technology (CAT)
- Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD)
- Life Orientation
After being promoted from grade 11, learners move to a bridging class and then to grade 12. The extra year provides more time to finish and round off the curriculum and prepare our learners for their final exams. We give extra classes, for additional support to learners who struggle with subject content, to help them finish assessment tasks and prepare for examinations.
For the past 23 years, Transoranje School for the Deaf had a 100% matric pass rate.
Our focus is on equipping our learners for life after school.
A year’s highlight is the matric farewell function for grade 12 learners.
” Education is the passport to the future,
for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
– Malcom X
TOC phase
The HOD for the TOC Phase is Khothatso Maluleke.
The Technical Occupational Curriculum (TOC) teaches children with technical abilities valuable skills. These skills will prepare them for finding a job when leaving school. Having a skill helps them operate in the adult world.
The Technical Occupational Curriculum (TOC) seeks to ensure that all learners, regardless of their abilities, have opportunities. In TOC, they have the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills aimed at meeting challenges and seizing opportunities in the rapidly changing twenty-first century. We teach them to apply the knowledge and skills in ways that are meaningful to their own lives beyond the educational setting.
The TOC Section offers:
- South African Sign Language (Home-language (HL)) (SASL),
- English (First Additional Language (FAL)),
- Mathematics,
- Food Production,
- Maintenance,
- Upholstery,
- Information Communication Technology (ICT),
- Life Skills
The phase composes of 75% Practical and 25% theory. Learners in the TOC phase are from 14 and up.
- The transition from year to year within the TOC section stretches over four years. The qualification is equivalent to grade 9 after completion.
- We expose the final-year learners to the work environment during September Deaf awareness month.
The core value is to prepare learners for the work environment and provide them with a skill that can assist them in fending for themselves.
Extracurricular activities are nail tech in the beauty industry and essential car wash services.
D-CAPS phase
The D-CAPS is the Curriculum for learners with more than just deafness that may hinder their studies. We teach them valuable skills to enable a fulfilled life.
DCaps is a curriculum for learners with special needs, including:
- Neurological barriers
- Impairments
- Visual barriers
- Hearing loss
- Physical barriers
- Intellectual barriers
- Multiple barriers
- Severe behavioural and emotional barriers
Practical approaches to different disability fields for curriculum differentiation.
At the end of the learners’ schooling, the learner will receive an equivalent certificate for Gr5. Practical subjects are taught, such as food production, upholstery and maintenance. Maintenance includes a bit of electrical-, wood-, plumbing, and gardening maintenance.
Our School
Facilities
Hostel Facilities
Transoranje School has hostel facilities catering to learners living far from the school. The hostel is home to approximately eighty learners.
Admission to the hostel depends on the decision of the hostel committee based on certain criteria and the availability of space.
60% of our learners come from impoverished backgrounds. The school can attend to the learners’ basic needs through the feeding scheme and the hostel, to make learning easier.
This is a typical girls’ room.
This is a typical boys’ room.
We provide nutritious meals in the hostel.
Hostel Staff
We accept toddlers from age 3 up to matric into our hostel accommodation.
Stephen Ramonyai – Cook
Transport
The school has free buses for learners in and around Pretoria.
The following suburbs are on the bus route: Atteridgeville. Soshanguve, Mamelodi, and Olievenhoutbosch. Parents must ensure that learners can be picked up along the route.
Drivers
Our drivers take the utmost care in transporting the learners.
Sport
We have several sports facilities at school. We have netball and soccer fields, a swimming pool and a rugby field.
Culture
We believe in developing all aspects of the learners.
We offer chess classes, and we also have a sign choir. The choir have been travelling to different concerts and countries before the pandemic stopped the travelling.
Our SBST
Supporting Services
Psychologist
The department head of School-Based Support Team and the school psychologist is Lutfiyya Chothia.
I oversee other therapists and collaborate with the Department of Education District Based Support Team to place learners in our school.
As an Educational Psychologist, I work with students, teachers and parents to ensure that our learners are supported in various areas of their development. This role includes:
- Assessing learners’ emotional needs,
- Assessing learning potential,
- Ensuring that our learners receive accommodations during examinations due to their disability,
- Conducting individual and group therapy sessions,
- Facilitating Play therapy,
- Providing preventative and educational programmes, and
- Providing parent guidance.
Occupational Therapist
Our occupational therapist is Megan Schipper.
Learners with hearing loss may experience various delays in their development. As an Occupational Therapist, I address physical, cognitive, psychosocial, visual perceptual and sensory aspects of a learner’s functioning. This can include areas such as gross and fine motor development, academic participation, making adaptations to the classroom and issuing therapeutic devices.
I assess learners and then treat them using meaningful activities to ensure they can actively participate in their school and home environments. I help teachers and parents better understand the learners to help them succeed in their daily activities.
Audiologist
Our audiologist is Sabeehah Dawood.
We offer the following Audiology services at the school:
- Hearing tests to determine and monitor learners’ hearing impairments,
- Management of learners’ hearing aids,
- Making new moulds,
- Re-tubing moulds,
- Management of hearing aid repairs, and
- Programming and fitting of hearing aids.
I support learners, teachers and parents in using and taking care of assistive hearing devices.
Speech Therapist
Our speech therapist at Transoranje School for the Deaf provides speech and language therapy to learners who would benefit from this service. They typically are learners fitted with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants that can produce meaningful speech.
In addition, they assist with providing academic support where possible in areas of language development and reading. They work closely with the school’s audiologist to ensure that the learner’s hearing aids and cochlear implants function optimally for auditory input.
Medical Nurse
Our medical nurse is Sweetness Mkhonza.
We, as nurses of the school, attend to all medical-related issues that affect our learners at the school, including:
- Attending to all medical emergencies and any injuries of the learners
- Regular preventative health screenings like vision, basic dental, and screening ensure young learners’ physical development. We make sure they are progressing well.
- Medication control for learners with chronic illnesses
- Immunisation programmes and deworming
We also assist with referrals to other medical professionals.
Social Worker
The Social Worker’s role at School is:
- to promote a culture of learning, care and support,
- to develop human potential to cater for the learner’s needs,
- link learners and parents with available facilities and institutions according to their needs,
- to encourage a sense of individualisation in learners, make teachers and all staff members aware of this characteristic in each learner, and approach it with a non-judgmental attitude.
- To enable learners to make maximum use of social opportunities, academic and developmental opportunities afforded them in the School setting,
- to render psychosocial support to learners facing challenges resulting from societal or peer pressure such as the usage of drugs or teenage pregnancy,
- to conduct workshops which instil self-confidence in each learner, and
- to conduct information-sharing workshops.
Years Established
Staff Members
Hostel Learners
Learners
Learner Support
The school’s learners is supported by a multi-discipline team that exists of:
- Experienced sign language instructors
- Educators
- Class-assistants
- Technical instructors
- Skills instructors
- Hostel parents
A word from the principal
A wise man once said:
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for the day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
My dream for every learner at Transoranje School is to, when they leave the school, have the skills and knowledge to be a self-sufficient member of society.