Howdy Families, Carers, and the Armstrong Creek Community!

Firstly, How did you go with last Auslan extra, Did you learn anything related to basic Greetings and vocabulary?

I wanted to say thank you for lot of positive comments, numbers of questions. Which it is fantastic. Always love seeking feedback or ideas. Keep them coming.

Today, I would love you to welcome our amazing ACS Auslan team.

Andrew is profoundly Deaf, and Auslan is his primary language at home with his partner and two daughters. Oh, can’t forget the family dog! Coco also responds to sign language, how cool is that?! All four are hearing, and use Auslan at home. Andrew is deeply involved in the Deaf community across Australia and has a huge passion for sports. He loves participating in state, national, and international Deaf Games. One of his biggest recent highlights, Captaining the Victoria Deaf Football Team for several years! Now, he’s stepped up as coach, but let’s be honest, he can’t resist still playing as well! He’s doing Victoria and Australia proud with his dedication and passion. Beyond sports, Andrew loves seeing students grow and learn. He enjoys chatting in Auslan about their weekend games, whether they won, lost, or had an unforgettable moment on the field. But it’s not just about sports—he’s also curious about what books students are reading, always eager to find out how the story ends! With his enthusiasm love for learning, Andrew is an incredible role model and inspiration to many! His favourite sign responsible (not responsible) – in Auslan saying “Not-my-problem”, or “not-my-responsible” responsible (not responsible) Welcome to the team Andrew.

Welcome, Adrienne! Adrienne has travelled nearly 15,000 km from her homeland—she grew up in America! And guess what? She’s fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). Before moving to Australia, she worked as an interpreter for many Deaf people in the U.S. Since arriving here, she has quickly learned Auslan, meaning she now speaks at least three languages fluently—English, ASL, and Auslan. How impressive is that?!

She loves using her hands to express herself, and when she’s not signing, you’ll often find her juggling clubs!How lucky is ACS to have her? Let’s give a warm welcome to Adrienne! Oh, and one more thing—her favourite sign is "Puzzled" #3

Cara is absolutely thrilled to be teaching Auslan! Fun fact—did you know she actually started learning Auslan when she was in primary school? And now, look where it has taken her!

Before joining ACS, Cara worked as an Auslan/English interpreter in all sorts of settings. With her incredible interpreting skills and love for music, she even had the amazing experience of interpreting live concerts for Taylor Swift and Pink—what an unforgettable opportunity! Now, we’re so lucky to have her here at ACS, sharing her passion for Auslan with us. And her favourite sign? Theatre #3. Welcome, Cara!

Welcome, Janelle! Did you know that Janelle has been part of Armstrong Creek School since before day one? Yep, she’s been around from the very beginning! Janelle’s Auslan journey started when her eldest son was just 7 months old. Like most babies, he found some creative ways to express himself—including throwing food all over the floor when he was finished eating! Imagine the mess that Janelle and her partner had to clean up! But then—lightbulb moment! She taught him the Auslan sign for "finish", and guess what? No more flying food! From then on, he simply signed “finish” instead—problem solved! Fast forward a little, and Auslan became an even bigger part of Janelle’s life when she found out she had a Deaf nephew who also uses Auslan to communicate. This inspired her entire family to learn, and now all three of her boys sign—not just to chat with their cousin, but also at home, even around the dinner table! And now their dad is jumping on board too—what a lucky bloke!

We’re beyond excited to have Janelle with us! She’s confident that we’re all going to learn heaps together and have so much fun along the way! Oh, and her favourite sign? "Confused" Welcome to the team, Janelle!

Something worth while introducing, Auslan Sign bank, where it give you the opportunity to write down the words you or your family wish to learn and then check out the signs in the Auslan Dictionary (Signbank) www.auslan.org.au - type the word into “keyword” and have a play.

Hints, If you look at each profile above who have jointed Auslan team you will find they have favourite signs. Why not check it out by using this site. Bit of a challenge, all you need to type their favourite word in keyword to find. If you find #(number) you may find for that sign that may be 1 or more different signs be sure you click on the number you will find near the video image which it is on the right. Most importantly be sure it is used in Victoria. You will find a map below the video with map. If it is not highlighted in Blue that sign we don’t use in Victoria. I will explain later down the track different between northern and southern dialect. Continuing with Signbank, why not practise your fingerspelling https://auslan.org.au/spell/twohanded.html you could enter any word and practise fingerspelling it at either a slow or fast pace. If you are seeking more of a challenge, use randomly generated words and make it into the competition with your family: https://auslan.org.au/spell/practice.html

Something for you, family, care, community to have a play with. Let me know how you go?

In this video, (there is a YouTube clip below for you click on), it will be rare as you will find me introducing myself, a short explanation of what Auslan similar what I have posted in that last Auslan extra expectations about Auslan Extra. This video has a voiceover by an interpreter. Going forward, a video will be produced each fortnight which will feature either me or the kids signing. Just a friendly reminder a text or pictures will also be included to assist with understanding and to help you learn Auslan as there will be no background sound/voiceover in future videos. Had a quite few query about why not voice over. As always this a great opportunity to learn basic Auslan and also a chance for you to ask me questions related to Deaf/Hard of Hearing people or the language itself. Feedback is also always welcomed.

Bring on 2025 with a great team – it’s sure to be an exciting year!

https://youtu.be/PU65-SjRdKw

Something for fun, why not learn the colours

https://youtu.be/vhIykD4W7Sg

Good luck and enjoy!

NDIS