Languages- Auslan

Communicating with the Specialist Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2026, and welcome your input:

Amanda Oakley (Languages- Auslan) Amanda.Oakley2@education.vic.gov.au

Shar Stjerne (Languages- Auslan) Shar.Stjerne@education.vic.gov.au 

Congratulations to Olivia and Margot! 2026 Auslan Leaders.

We are excited to have Olivia and Margot as our Auslan captains for 2026. They have already demonstrated initiative and eagerness by participating in the junior classes to support the younger students learning Auslan. We our looking forward to working with Olivia and Margot during 2026.

Auslan Day 2026

Auslan Day is celebrated on April 13th in 2026 which is during the school holidays. 

The 13th of April 1989 was when the first Auslan (Australian Sign Language) dictionary was published. Previously Auslan was known as sign language. This publication officially gave the Deaf community a name for their language, and Auslan was then recognised as a community language in Australia in 1991.  

USPS Auslan Day Celebrations

We are very excited to announce that we will be celebrating Auslan Day at Upwey South Primary, in May, with a very special guest... Gonketa.

G'day! I'm Jaycob Campbell, better known as Gonketa. I'm a Deaf visual artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), and my art is a powerful, vibrant declaration of Deaf culture and the transformative power of visual language. My work is an exploration of the human experience, captured in the dynamic movement and powerful, sculpted shapes formed by hands and gestures the very heart of communication. I paint with bold, vivid colours and exaggerated expressions, not just to catch your eye, but to emphasise the profound importance of visible language. My ultimate mission is to promote self-determination for Auslan users and the wider Deaf community, leaving a visible mark and a powerful, enduring legacy that reminds everyone: We are always here. 

(from Jaycob's website... https://www.gonketa.com/)

The students are very excited about this amazing opportunity and we will be ready to welcome Gonketa and his team to our amazing school.

Foundation 

What a delight, meeting all of the new foundation students! They have begun their first year of Auslan with enthusiasm, interest and an eagerness to learn a new language.

During Term One, we have been learning about greetings, family, names, letters and colours. Learning a new language involves the understanding that communication can be spoken, written, read, signed and felt (braille). We have been discussing these concepts whilst learning about the first letter of their name. Through modelling and practise, each child created their first letter with playdough and fingerspelt it manually. As the year moves on, they will learn all the letters in the alphabet and fingerspell their whole name with a visual prompt and for some,  independently. In recent weeks, we have been exploring the colour signs and will continue to build upon this with numbers using hands on materials and games to consolidate the students' learning.

  Year One

The Year One students have jumped straight back into Auslan revising the alphabet, names, family and colour signs. During Term One, they focused on 'like' and 'dislike' and created lists of food, animals and/or activities that they drew or wrote. They then used this list when signing a short presentation to myself and sharing with their peers. It's lovely to see their level of comfort and confidence grow, when signing in front of others.

Term Two will bring a focus on hand shapes and other specific 'features' of Auslan leading up to our Auslan Day Incursion in May. 

            Year Two 

Students in Year Two began the year exploring 'All About Me". This activity enabled the students to think about, discuss, share and recall past signing knowledge. They choose to write or draw a short summary of areas such as favourite colour, animal, sport and number. They used their visual prompts to support signing this information with a peer and to the class. Many of the students are challenging themselves by creating phrases with additional sign information which is encouraging to observe. Now, in Year Two, the students have a growing understanding of the importance of the features of Auslan such as the handshape,orientation, location and movement of a sign. They understand that facial expression, body language and the speed of movement can all impact the meaning of the sign. I am looking forward to exploring this further with the Year Two cohort this year.

Year Three and Four

The Year Three and Four students have been diving into the things that make them unique. The them of identity and self is running through the word work and expressions we have been rediscovering at the beginning of the year. With our Auslan day postponed to term two, we have been exploring questions and answers to prepare for our sessions with Gonketa. We are all looking forward to meeting Jaycob (Gonketa) in term two and exploring more about deaf arts, identity and handshapes.

Year Five and Six

The Year Five and Six students been consolidating lots of prior learning this term. We have been working steadily on introductions and greetings to feel very confident in asking and responding to questions. Comparing English and Auslan phrases and question structures to build understanding of differences and patterns in communicating. The students have been challenged with new games and more signing across the space to encourage voice off and focus on signing.