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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-20 Daily Xml
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KLEMZIG PRIMARY SCHOOL

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (15:32): Last week I had the pleasure of attending Klemzig Primary School where the Premier presented gold medallions to students who had achieved the required reading through the Premier's Reading Challenge program. Over 73 per cent of the students participated in the Premier's Reading Challenge, with 12 receiving gold medallions, 34 receiving silver medallions, 45 receiving bronze medallions and 51 receiving a first-year certificate.

The Premier was also entertained by the schools Auslan (Australian Sign Language) Signing Choir. The Premier was quite moved by the choir's presentation. The Klemzig Signing Choir signs Auslan to popular and modern music to support the school's Auslan program. It provides a fun way in which to practise and perform Auslan. Students who are new to the school have their confidence lifted by learning through repetition, and they find that they can sign whole songs readily. The deaf students have exposure to the latest songs to which their hearing peers listen, and it deepens their understanding of hearing culture.

The choir is very popular with the school students, with over half of them participating in it each week and auditioning for performances. Klemzig Primary School has many requests for public performances, and these include (as for many schools) the Festival of Music each year, shopping centres, launches, Rundle Mall and events around Hearing Awareness Week.

The Premier was also able to hear from the school's principal, Tony Zed, and its coordinator for the hearing impaired, Sue Nickson, about the school's Centre for Hearing Impaired and the programs it undertakes. Some members may think that sign language is no longer required, given the marvellous scientific developments of cochlear implants and the like, but I assure members that there is an ongoing need for many deaf people and others to use Auslan as their primary means of communication. Their medical condition may not be able to be treated with a cochlear implant or they may have had a tracheotomy, or there may be another reason.

Klemzig Primary School continues to experience growth, with a 20 per cent increase in enrolment this year and with a prediction for this to continue next year. Currently, Klemzig has 227 students of whom 17 are deaf or hearing impaired. At the school, they teach deaf and hearing students through a bilingual, bicultural approach. The teacher of the deaf, who is highly skilled in Auslan, works with mainstream teachers and ancillary staff to deliver the curriculum in both English and Auslan to deaf and hearing students, allowing them to access the curriculum in their preferred language.

Auslan is the language of the deaf community in Australia and it is a recognised language in its own right, with its own structure and grammar. It is not a code for English. Auslan is taught across Klemzig Primary School as the language other than English. Unlike other LOTE subjects, students at Klemzig use Auslan in a classroom setting with deaf adults and students. The visual nature of Auslan means the entire student's learning is enhanced through meaningful visual clues.

It is interesting to note that research shows that 55 per cent of our understanding comes from visual cues when communicating. The school also undertakes an Auslan early learning program for preschool deaf children and children from deaf families. This program provides children with a strong foundation through Auslan and English before starting school, as well as social interaction with other students with whom they can communicate readily.

The school's bilingual, bicultural program follows similar philosophies to those of Sweden where children are expected to be children first and to live a rich and full life by being fully exposed to the same curriculum as hearing students. Children are encouraged to be children and parents to be parents, rather than teachers. Klemzig Primary School received international recognition when the Queen of Sweden, Queen Silvia, asked to visit the school in 2005 after hearing about the school's excellent bilingual, bicultural Auslan program. The school has asked me to thank the Premier for taking time out of his really busy schedule to visit Klemzig Primary School to see and hear the school's wonderful bilingual, bicultural Auslan program.

I commend the programs run at that school. I have a brother-in-law who has been deaf from birth and, sadly, a cochlear implant would be of no benefit to him. Although he is not a great user of sign language, it is extremely important because people who are deaf and who cannot use aids need to be able to communicate effectively.

Time expired.

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