The founders of the school, Rev Erlo Stegen and his wife, Kay, established the school's vision in 1986. The school's vision is to offer an educational programme where learners can develop their talents, confidence and respect. This school has outstanding academic results and boasts a 100% pass rate for many years. Their learning programme is value-based, with character development, discipline, responsibility, and moral values presented alongside academics. The school also offers a wide range of subjects, including agricultural science. The school's staff and parents work together to educate the children. When schools and parents work together to educate learners, it positively impacts learners' academic performance, behaviour, and overall development.
The benefits include improved academic achievement, better behaviour and discipline, improved attendance, stronger social and emotional development and higher motivation and confidence. The collaboration between parents and teachers makes all the difference in helping learners succeed academically, behave responsibly, and reach their full potential. This is evident at DSS. DSS is located at the KwaSizabantu mission station, where learners have access to a community environment focused on service, faith, and personal development. The school goes beyond the classroom, teaching its learners to get involved in the community from a young age. They regularly carry out community outreach activities, such as visits to older communities.
The school also actively participates in and promotes national programs such as World Environment Day, Career Day, World Bee Day, World Diabetes Day and many others. In this way, learners are taught to become aware of developments at the social and national levels and to engage with issues affecting the community. DSS goes beyond the classroom, teaching learners how to grow their own vegetables. Because the school is located at the mission station, it has access to the Mission's highly successful farming project, Emseni Farming. Emseni teaches them how to plant and care for their vegetable gardens and stands in to maintain them during the school holidays. DSS was originally established to cater for the missionaries and workers at KwaSizabantu, but over time, locals began attending the school amid a lack of quality education in the area.
The school also has learners from abroad. It caters for learners from Grade RR to Grade 12. It also has a boarding school for learners who come from far. The school's YouTube video about the fortieth-anniversary celebration offers a brief glimpse into the school's spirit.
Feel free to follow the link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jkuKoal3tsc&feature=shared .