Praslin Vijay International School |13 June 2019

Sign language club visits School for the Deaf at Au Cap

The sign language club of the Vijay International School on Praslin recently made an exchange visit to the School for the Deaf at au Cap on Mahé.

This visit was organised by the school at Au Cap in collaboration with the Association of People with Hearing Impairment (Aphi) and the Vijay International School on Praslin.

 It was indeed a special moment for the four students – Anaira Dick, Aarya Senthil, Anjali Grandcourt and Camilla Cupidon – from the Vijay International School of Praslin.

Upon arrival at the School for the Deaf, the visitors were welcomed by the head of the school, Renette Bastille and the chairperson of Aphi, Anita Gardner.

The day began with a familiarisation session whereby the students learned each other’s names and sign names. They were able to learn how the deaf students learn through sign language and the role of a teacher in a class of students with hearing impairment.

The students also participated in a story telling session where they learned about the Seychelles deaf community and also about the Seychellois sign language.

After having lunch together, the students crafted bookmarks and exchanged souvenirs among themselves. The day ended with performances of dances and mimes.

Emma Dye, a sign language club teacher, stated: “We started our sign language club at Vijay International School this year and have been mainly learning the British sign language. Before visiting the school for the deaf, we were not only so excited but also really nervous,” she said.

Mrs Dye added that when they arrived at the school they were welcomed by new friends and soon felt part of the school. The school, students and teachers were so inspiring and we spent our day taking part in different activities which allowed us to make lifelong friends.

She was happy to learn that the Deaf Association is publishing a sign language dictionary as well as videos and this will be so much easier to learn the Seychellois sign language.

She also extended an invitation to students for the school for the deaf school to visit the Vijay International School and the school was to begin fundraising activities in order to organise the visit of the deaf students from Au Cap school.

Mrs Gardner noted that Aphi encourage these kinds of exchanges because it is a very important component in the development of deaf students promoting bilingual and cultural education whereby deaf students also learn more about the world of hearing.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the exchange visit.