Canada’s national anthem has been in the news lately. The times we are living in has meant that the words of our anthem are resonating more with people. I was recently moved to happy tears (I needed my Scotties tissues!) while watching a special performance of ‘O Canada’ by some dedicated children.
The Scotties, Canada’s national women’s curling championship, was taking place at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. I attended one of the morning draws that featured Team Canada as well as teams from B.C., Northern Ontario (Thunder Bay’s own Krista McCarville team), Saskatchewan, Alberta, New Brunswick, P.E.I., and Nunavut. As is the practice at the beginning of each day of competition, there is an opening ceremony concluding with the singing of ‘O Canada’. On this particular day, singing of the anthem was accompanied by 47 students from Claude E. Garton Public School in Thunder Bay who recited the anthem using American Sign Language. The students, ranging from grades JK to Grade 7, were part of a Sign Language Club at their school. Since returning to classes in January, the students had been meeting 2 or 3 lunch hours a week to learn and practice American Sign Language (ASL), the preferred language by many Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing people. This was the students’ first public signing experience.
Norah Moir was excited to be part of the club and to be taking on such an important role at a national women’s sporting championship. “It’s cool,” said the Grade 3 student. “We’ve been practicing since Christmas.” Isla Mehra-Bova, another Grade 3 student, told me she was happy to be part of the club because “there are lots of people around the world who can’t hear and everybody deserves a chance to be able to hear people.” Carson Cassidy also participated, admitting that he was “a bit nervous” but really proud that they were able to take part in the ceremony in front of hundreds of people.
Parents were also in the audience to support the students as they opened Day 13 of the Scotties Tournament. Chantelle Mroz has a daughter, Lilah-Jane, in the club. “She’s worked so hard to take part in this special day. It’s a big accomplishment to be able to sign with her classmates. I know she’s very excited to keep signing and I know it could benefit her in the future.”
The person who inspired the club is Whitney Mullally. Whitney is Deaf and just started JK at Claude E. Garton School last September. The children wanted to be able to communicate with Whitney. So, with the help of teacher Janice Sweitzer and Laurel Smyk, the students formed a club where they learned ‘O Canada’ and are working on social greetings in ASL to create “connections between the hearing and deaf communities that will foster inclusivity.” Janice Sweitzer says, “Having this opportunity to showcase ASL as the language of many Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people in North America is amazing. We call it the Whitney-Factor! Her smiles make the effort to learn worthwhile.”
Kevin Wingfield was attending the Scotties that day as a spectator. Kevin learned to sign because it was the first language in his home growing up. His parents were Deaf and Kevin used ASL to communicate with them and their Deaf friends. He was impressed that these kids were working on their ASL skills in order to communicate with Whitney and other Deaf people. “It’s great that they are learning,” he said. He encourages them to keep at it.
Thank you, Claude Garton School Sign Language Club. Your willingness and dedication to practice in order to communicate better with Whitney at your school is inspiring. Taking the time to say ‘hello’ in ASL (or perhaps in another language) is a lesson many adults can learn from you. Thanks for performing with glowing hearts. Keep on signing!
