Children test signing skills at Napoleons Auslan cafe

NAPOLEONS Primary School students tried out their sign language skills during a Silent Cafe day recently.

The event was the first of its kind held at the school and was managed by Auslan specialist Lauren Stancliffe, who teaches the skill there on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Students in grades 5 and 6 prepared for it by making hand-shaped cookies, pizzas and fruit salads, which were sold on the day.

“Families and visitors ordered food and drinks using Auslan instead of speaking,” Ms Stancliffe said.

“Students prepared, served, and ran the cafe entirely in silence.”

Ms Stancliffe said the cafe was designed to put the children’s Auslan learning into practice in a real-life setting while also encouraging the wider school community to engage with the language.

“It was a great day seeing families and children putting so much effort into signing their orders and supporting the students’ learning,” she said, adding that she had never seen some of the participating families signing before.

“Students learned and used the Auslan signs for food items the whole term, such as fruit salad, pizza, and biscuits, and all food ingredients that we put in our food.”

Auslan is the official language of the Australian deaf community. It is a visual-gestural language and is completely different from spoken English.

Ms Stancliffe, who also teaches Auslan at the Meredith and Warrenheip primary schools, said learning it promotes inclusion, accessibility and communication between the deaf and hearing communities.

She said she was now planning an excursion to Melbourne next term for students to experience a deaf-led cafe at the Victorian College for the Deaf.