OUR MISSION STATEMENT
 

WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO PROVIDING THE BEST AFFORDABLE WHOLISTIC EDUCATION TO ALL OUR LEARNERS BY PROVIDING ACADEMIC TUITION, INCLUDING SKILLS-BASED LEARNING IN A BROADER CURRICULUM, TO PROVIDE WELL-BALANCED INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ABLE TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF A SOCIETY BY MAKING A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION.

OUR VISION
 

TRIOMF PRIMARY SCHOOL IS AN INSTITUTION WHICH EDUCATES THE CHILD AS A WHOLE BY PROVIDING A SOUND FOUNDATION. IT PROJECTS A POSITIVE IMAGE OF ALL ITS STAKEHOLDERS TO SERVE AS A MODEL CENTRE OF LEARNING FOR OUR SOCIETY. IT CREATES A SECURE ENVIRONMENT. EDUCATION IS PROVIDED BY DEDICATED AND COMMITTED FACILITATORS AND STAFF. IT USES MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE SKILLS BASED LEARNING TO ENABLE LEARNERS TO COMPETE FAVOURABLY BY UTILISING THE BEST AFFORDABLE FACILITIES.

SCHOOL HISTORY
 

Triomf Primary School was established as a parallel medium school in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth in January 1975 with 1013 pupils, of which 816 were in the Afrikaans and 197 in English classes. There were 32 teachers on the staff. The school was built during a time when education was at the height of a crisis period in South Africa. To satisfy the demand for education by an ever increasing population, the school was constructed in the cheapest possible manner. This temporary, prefabricated building, with incomplete playing fields, only had a lifespan of 12 years and today after 24 years we are still in the very same building. However, we were blessed to have been led by a very efficient principal, Mr A.E. Carrels, who admirably served the school for 19 years. May he always be remembered for this. He retired at the end of 1993.

Academically, we have produced students who have made their mark at High Schools both locally and further afield. Under the adverse conditions of having inadequate sport facilities, the dedicated teachers managed to coach and train our pupils to the extent that sport became synonymous with the name Triomf Primary. To assist our community, which had been starved of cultural activities, we have arranged concerts, cultural evenings and drama productions to make them aware of this very important aspect of life. We also stage an Awards Evening / Morning annually to honour our pupils who have progressed well during the year. This event is the talk of the Northern Areas and a cultural activity not to be missed.

OUR FREEDOM

1994 - 1998

With the advent of the new South Africa came many paradigm shifts that were startling and challenging. It immediately became apparent that budgetary constraints, coupled with the inheritance of our past government, would create many problems. What frightened us even more was the fact that some of our parents could afford to send their children to ex-model C schools which again had the advantage in the new dispensation. With the above-mentioned in mind, we were forced to change our approach and our attitude to maintain the status quo. Our approach developed into a three-pronged empowerment
strategy. Firstly, we had to make an attempt to upgrade our school building and grounds in some way or another. Secondly, we had to mould all role-players into a constructive unit by empowering all concerned. Thirdly, we had to show a positive attitude to the many meaningful changes in education that we had been introduced to.

Once again we tried every conceivable avenue in our new department to have our school rebuilt or repaired. This included the establishment of a Building Committee that even went as far as drawing up plans for a new school building. We extended invitations to our MEC of education at the time Mrs N. Balindlela, and the RDP Chairperson, Mr M. Xegho, to visit our school to see the conditions for themselves. Although both persons were shocked and sympathetic, their hands were tied due to financial constraints. Our next attempt to improve the condition of our school was to approach the private sector.

OUR EMPOWERMENT

In October 1996 we applied to become part of the Delta Centres Of Learning project and we were successful. It is  through this project that we empowered ourselves through leadership , computer literacy and Governing Body programmes. We also realised that our local Teachers’ Centre would be playing a vital role in Education and invited them to our school. We attended many workshops with the idea of staying abreast of the latest developments in education. We belonged to the Commonwealth project run by our Education Department which gave us insight into the functioning of other schools. We became a member of the Read Organisation and have now become one of their schools of “ Excellence”.

Our School Governing Body has played a vital role in the upliftment of our school in that we were one of the first schools to have a constitution that reflected the new  Schools Act. The Read Organisation assisted us in the completion of our school code of conduct. With the assistance of the Delta Foundation Centres Of Learning Project, all roleplayers finally put together our “ Vision” and “ Mission” statements.

EXTRA-MURAL AND SPORT ACTIVITIES

As far as extra-mural activities are concerned we have a cultural group which prepares for assemblies and special occasions which includes dramatisations, choirs and recorders. We are part of the Global Stories project whereby our pupils write poems and stories and exchange them with pupils in Dorset, England. We introduced our pupils to their first school song at the beginning of 1998 and it is wonderful to see them sing with a pride and ownership. Our Environmental Club is very active making our pupils aware of their environment. On the sports field we have done very well in competitions organised by the United Cricket Board and twenty of our budding artists were part of the “ Ibhayi Naming Ceremony” in August 1998.

OUR SOCIAL COMMITMENT

Our existing social commitment is in the form of an annual donation to the Aids Haven collected by the pupils to enable the Haven to be in a position to improve its conditions. Secondly, we have an annual function for the Aged. As part of our social commitment to our community, we intend extending our existing library facilities to the Salsoneville Old Age Home, Aids Haven and our parents. The Rotary Club of P.E. has donated adult and children’s literature to our school and we hope to make this available very soon.
 
 

OUR RISE FROM THE “ASHES”

After writing many letters to the private sector for assistance to renovate our school, and highlighting our plight in our local newspapers, a parent assisted us by making contact with Irvine & Johnson, the fishing company. To our amazement a sizeable donation was made to repair the rotten sides of the school. We immediately called a meeting of all parents, and a working committee was established. Our second biggest donor was Dulux Paints which donated paint for the refurbishing of the building. Other assistance came from Fineline Ceilings, Docco’s and Mrs Reid ( a lady from Johannesburg ). Parents and teachers have been working on the renovations for eight months and a significant change can be seen. This exercise has not only built a new comradie amongst all stakeholders, but has created an ownership by all concerned.

Our role has improved from 902 in 1997 to 963 in 1999, of which 701 are in the English and 262 in the Afrikaans classes with 28 teachers on the staff. Compared to the numbers with which we started the school in 1975, one can proudly deduce that our community still has faith in our ability to “ produce the goods”. We have achieved many milestones over the years. However, if we stick to our school motto “ Persevera Et Truimpha” , I believe that nothing is impossible for us to achieve in the future.

R.M.Stowman
[Principal]

Triomf Primary School
1 Adams Street Salsoneville Port Elizabeth
P.O. Box 17074 Saltville
South Africa
 
 

OUR PRIORITIES FOR THE MILLENNIUM

NEW APPROACH TO EDUCATION

[1] Due to the fact that our previous education system was discriminatory, it prepared a certain population group to dominate the others, our new government has introduced “OUTCOMES BASED EDUCATION”. The new education system seeks to redress knowledge, attitudes, values, skills, and lifelong learning. We all believe that this system is the best to replace the old one, which was based on the regurgitation of information.

[2] We be working in the following learning areas:
 Language, Literacy and Communication
 Human and Social Sciences
 Technology
 Mathematical Literacy, Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences
 Natural Sciences
 Art and Culture
 Economic and Management Sciences
 Life Orientation

Because our Education Department lacks the much needed funds to supply us with the much needed resources we will be spending most of this term collecting newspapers, magazines and books to enable us to start in the new year.

Another exiting challenge is the redesigning of our classroom furniture. Our pupils need to work in groups on a flat working surface instead of the traditional slanting school bench.

AQUIRING OF AN INTERNET SYSTEM

This has become a must to empower our disadvantaged pupils. We will be going on an extensive fundraising campaign to acquire this much needed resource. As soon as we are connected we will be hoping to set up communication with pupils of the same age group and hopefully in America.
 

Regards

Rodney Stowman