Public advisory on symbol of deafness and its usage
SADeaf was made aware of social media messages on the usage of a logo/graphic on masks to indicate deafness – this shows a stylised ear (orange) and hearing aid (blue). The message appeals to the public to share the logo/graphic to raise awareness of the issue of communication difficulties posed by masks.
1. SADeaf would like to clarify that we do not use this logo/graphic to indicate deafness/hearing loss.
When needed, SADeaf uses the International Symbol for Deafness, which can be found at
2. It is entirely up to the Deaf/deaf/hard-of-hearing individual to decide whether to indicate his/her deafness.
Some may want to inform and show the public they are deaf; others may not wish to do so. In other words, each person will have their own preference as to whether they wish to make known their deafness, and also in how they wish to communicate (via writing/typing, and/or speech, and/or signing, etc). The best way to find out is to ask the person.
CI Recrutiment 2021
We are recruiting for community interpreters!
Community Interpreters refer to our pool of interpreters who take on assignments on an ad hoc basis with remuneration. Interpreters are allies of the Deaf community providing equal access to information through quality interpretation to empower Deaf individuals to achieve a better quality of life and better integrate/contribute to the society.
Recruitment phase is from now till 18 Feb 2021. Check out the link https://tinyurl.com/CIRecruit2021 for the details!
Calendar Sales
SADeaf has printed limited copies of the 2021 Desk Calendars for sale as its fundraising effort to sustain the operations and services of SADeaf. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SADeaf has not been able to conduct any fundraising events in 2020. Hence, we seek your help to support our cause.
Purchase our calendar for personal use or as a gift for your loved ones. Each calendar is priced at $10.00 each, inclusive of delivery. As there are limited stocks available, do grab now one!
Auction
In conjunction with Flag Day 2021 SADeaf will be organising two special weekend sales and auction bidding as follow:
You are welcomed to come by our Weekend Special Sale to look at our items on sale!
All listed items are brand new!
Coach teal large crossbody bag $65
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Bidding for this item closes on 25th March, 2359
This coach crossbody features a large main pocket with 2 phone flaps and zipper pocket. On the outside is a magnetic button closure front pocket and open back pocket.
size: height 9.5″, width 12″
main pocket width 12″ depth 3″
shoulder strap 48″ at longest, 30″ at shortest
Carlo Rino crossbody bag $90
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RPP: $185
size: height 8″, width 12″
main pocket width 12″ depth 3″
shoulder strap 35″ at longest, 30″ at shortest
Lenovo Tab 7 Essential $70
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Bidding for this item closes on 25th March, 2359
Sony DPP-FP30 Digital Photo Printer $100
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Bidding for this item closes on 25th March, 2359
Aesop Quench: Classic Skin Care Kit $90
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Bidding for this item closes on 25h March, 2359
RPP: $149
Product link: https://www.aesop.com/sg/p/kits-travel/face/quench-classic-skin-care-kit/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhP2BBhDdARIsAJEzXlGzyR6az1lkP_WCIAK4sOol8z4Xl9bRCF_KQsgil3eL2APesz2BHiEaAjJBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Contains:
Purifying Facial Cream Cleanser 100ml, B & Tea Balancing Toner 100ml, Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream 60ml
Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Skin Care Kit $110
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RPP: $195
Product link: https://www.aesop.com/sg/p/kits-travel/face/parsley-seed-anti-oxidant-skin-care-kit/
Contains:
Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser 100ml, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Facial Toner 100ml, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum 100ml
Aesop Parsley Seed Extended Anti-Oxidant Skin Care Kit $340
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Bidding for this item closes on 25th March, 2359
RPP: $441
Product link: https://www.aesop.com/sg/p/kits-travel/face/parsley-seed-extended-anti-oxidant-skin-care-kit/
Contains :
Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Oil, 200 ml, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Facial Toner 100 ml, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum 100 ml, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream 10 ml, Parsley Seed Cleansing Masque 60 ml, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Facial Treatment 15 ml
Winning bidders will be contacted after the end of the auction period for the mode of payment.
An Introduction to Trauma Informed Care
In collaboration with the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH), we would like to invite you to a talk on Trauma Informed Care.
It will be conducted online on ZOOM on 15 January 2021 (Friday) at 7.30pm.
Sign language interpretation and notetaking services will be available.
Closing Date : 11 January 2021
For registration, please contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@sadeaf.org.sg or via SMS/Whatsapp to 9791 7566 with your full name, HHC number, email address and HP number.
The Zoom link will be sent to you nearer the event date.
We hope to see you there!
Thank you.
Transparent Face Mask – A*STAR
SADeaf wishes to express our heartfelt appreciation to Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Ramatex for the generous donation of 3,000 pieces of face masks. Due to their design savvy, these reusable face masks come with a clear window around the mouth area to facilitate speech-reading and better visual access to facial expressions.
We especially wish to thank Professor Alfred Huan, Assistant Chief Executive, Science and Engineering Research Council, A*STAR (third from left), Dr David Low, CEO of the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) and Executive Director of Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology – SIMTech (extreme right), and Mr Chris Ma, Director, Ramatex (second from left) for visiting SADeaf on 16 December to present the masks to us.
P/S: Do look out for our announcement to clients on how to collect these masks on a first-come-first-serve basis. See less
Insurance Awareness Talk
We will be having an Insurance Awareness Talk on the 11 December 2020, from 8PM to 930PM on our Facebook live happening that day!
The talk will be covering on topics such as:
- Areas of coverage (Life, Disability, Major Illnesses, Accident & Hospitalisation)
- What can you expect?
- Importance of review
- Underwriting (FAQ)
- Mental health & coverage
- Advantages of early planning
- Case studies
Do join us on this talk, hope to see you there!
Thank you.
Dispatches from SADeaf: Deaf Education
Flourishing at Mayflower
During the circuit breaker period, Home-Based Learning (HBL) replaced physical teaching and several problems emerged for students with hearing loss. They were used to an in-person learning setting. Besides the lack of physical support as well as social interaction, also absent was English subtitles in the video clips used in the online learning platform.
And into the breach stepped the mainstream teachers and the specialised teachers and their dynamic collaboration!. We recorded the signed lessons which were then embedded into the videos before they were uploaded to the platform. The teaching team also worked out a video conferencing schedule for Google Meet lessons with the students with hearing loss, giving them more individualised attention.
The parents were supportive in assisting their children in the HBL process and soon our students became used to online learning. They also picked up other skills such as uploading their written work. Indeed, the whole experience was, for us and our students with hearing loss, a steep learning curve in becoming IT-savvy almost overnight!
A Very Different National Day Celebration
Due to the COVID-19 situation, the National Day celebration was not held at the Yio Chu Kang stadium as usual. Instead, we celebrated the occasion as a school in our classrooms virtually through Zoom. Nonetheless, the students had fun while practising safe distancing.
Coming together as a school, students and teachers produced a video, singing and signing the song ‘Our Singapore‘ by JJ Lin. The Primary 3 students with hearing loss and their classmates signed the lyrics for the song for the video. It screened during the school’s NDP celebration for all to watch!
Every year, two students with hearing loss are selected to lead the school in “The Recollections”. However, as we were unable to gather together, one of our students with hearing loss, Janelle Jurng, was chosen to lead the school in signing along from their classrooms, as they watched the NDP celebrations online.
By David Lee (Specialised Teacher) and Bernadette Pung (Educational Interpreter)
Experiencing SgSL Week from the comfort of home
Singapore’s inaugural digital International Week of the Deaf (IWD) 2020 was launched on 21st September 2020. Together with the global Deaf community, we celebrated and showcased Deaf cultures and languages to the larger public. The event was held on our official Facebook page of The Singapore Association for the Deaf.
The IWD 2020 celebration in Singapore adopted the theme for the International Day of Sign Languages 2020 “Sign Languages are for Everyone!” In accordance with the theme, the program included members of the Deaf community using Singapore Sign Language through Stories in Sign and featuring in the #DeafAtWork segment. Sharing sessions on the Deaf community, identity, and language were also presented through Facebook Live every evening.
We wish to thank all viewers for joining us online, as well as speakers and staff who worked on this unique event.
Watch the videos!
An upside to holding the event online is that the content is still available on our Facebook page. For those who missed the talks or wish to view them again, just browse over for the full list of online videos.
Below are selected talks, presentations, and #StoriesInSign series in Singapore Sign Language.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Lighthouse School
The Little Red Hen by David Lee
My Wobbly Experience by April Chia
Haunted Roads by Dennis Tan
The daily live events during the IWD 2020 included the sharings by researchers and members of the Deaf community, and the #DeafAtWork series showcases some outstanding members of the community.
The Importance of Early Access to Sign Language; #DeafAtWork David Lee; #DeafAtWork Tan Wei Ling
By Deaf Access Dept (Deaf Studies), SADeaf
Coping with Covid, the Beatty way
Before the announcement of Home-Based Learning (HBL) due to the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, teachers in schools all over Singapore, including us resource teachers at Beatty Secondary, had been planning lessons for the weeks to come. We worked with the mainstream teachers on the video setup such that we could simultaneously sign the lessons. Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp video calls and OBS Studio – you name it, we used it.
We worked closely with our mainstream counterparts to sync with their lessons, especially the written work given and the live lessons. For the live lessons, we would either sign or note take, depending on the lesson dynamics. We also crafted our own lessons for students to work on during supplementary lessons. The resource teachers also interpreted for the form teachers during the check-in sessions to ensure the well-being of the students during this period.
Though the initial period was both overwhelming and frustrating for both teachers and students, everyone was eventually able to adapt seamlessly in time. Our students with hearing loss also proved their resilience during this time, completing their tasks on time and garnering the teachers’ praises.
From 2 June, the students were back in school following an alternative week model. The resource teachers wore masks with clear plastic areas for the mouth area so that the students could see our facial expressions clearly and to enable students to lip-read us. It took time for both students and teachers to get used to wearing masks and the discomfort, but we managed it!
Beatty Secondary School also got creative in engaging our students during these trying times. Two of our Secondary 3 students with hearing loss, who had to return to school during the HBL weeks, were provided learning devices to complete their HBL assignments. Special activities and customised programmes such as “Smoothie Making Workshop” and “Games @ Cabin” were provided to students to be continually engaged in their learning.
The school leaders in Beatty Secondary have been very supportive of our students with hearing loss during this time, ensuring they are well-supported at home and in school. We wish to express our thanks to them and colleagues, as well as students, who have journeyed with us along the way.
By Susanne Patrick and Mas Elfie Jaar Bin, Resource Teachers, Deaf Education Dept, SADeaf