Open Sign Language 101

[Mhairi Olaf]

Since trying to teach others simple words and letters in sign language, Mhairi had found it satisfying to put forward a small part of who she was into teaching. As someone who had been deaf since birth, the Hufflepuff had grown accustomed to the language herself, and while she was able to speak to her close family, there was still a barrier between herself and the majority of the school. There were of course exceptions and the seventh year wasn’t the only person at Hogwarts who relied on different forms of communication, but she set out in what time she had remaining at the school, to introduce sign language on a bigger scale. Unaware of whether it would take off, or if anyone would turn up at all, the blonde could only hope that she’d pinned up enough posters in places that students would frequently pass, and that there was an enough interest throughout the year groups.​

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She’d chosen to set up the abandoned classroom, so that words could be written later on up on the board. Of course Mhairi would have preferred to be outside to learn, surrounded by the wildlife although it wasn’t quite as practical, especially if a number of students did turn up. Instead she’d brought the wildlife inside, decorating the place with numerous flowers and plants, and hoping she would be able to incorporate them into the vocabulary. The blonde was at the front of the room, doing her best to draw a large tulip in chalk, as she waited to see whether any students would actually turn up.​

 

[Jenna Jusantrea -Maxwell]

"Hello!"Jenna walk closer another Hufflepuff girl. She wss curios about this and wanted join in with others. Hufflepuff girl looked around and she can't wait what she would be doing here.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Sign language was a skill Lysander had never had any interest in learning until he'd tried to communicate with Mahairy at the Wild Patch. There had never been any need to prior, and he hadn't personally known anyone who couldn't hear, particularly in the magical world. He didn't really know how useful it would be, but he realised if he met other people who couldn't hear him, he wanted to be able to at least try and communicate with them in a way they understood best. He still preferred the way the Hufflepuff wrote what she needed to with her wand, only because it was easier for him, but he'd quickly learned it was a bit one-sided, and not everyone had access to the same spell. The boy stepped into one of the old classrooms and smiled at Jenna and Mahairy, before wandering over to the chalkboard to pick up one of the coloured pieces. Since it wasn't very busy yet, he was happy to spend the time waiting by helping the older girl draw flowers, and opted for a fanged geranium himself.​

 

[Mhairi Olaf]

Mhairi didn’t see the younger Hufflepuff enter the room, and she certainly didn’t hear her either. What did catch her notice though was Lysander, who appeared at her side and instantly began joining in with the drawing. A little higher on the board, she wrote their names, hoping to use it as an example later on in the session. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted a second girl sat in the room, and gave her a little wave and a smile. Taking her wand from her pocket, the seventh year used one of the spells taught to older students to write in the air, “Hi, what’s your name?” She asked, before looking back towards the girl.​

@Jenna Jusantrea​

 

[Jenna Jusantrea -Maxwell]

"Jenna Jusantrea From Hufflepuff house. Can i join to?"Jenna smiled to Lysander boy when she saw him smiling. That was weird a little bit becouse she didn't know about him so much. She know he is Wendall best friend and she liked Wendall and that was her biggest sicret.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob stepped into the classroom, not expecting to see anyone he knew. He didn't even know the host, but he'd seen several flyers around. The first one he'd barely paid attention to but the second and third he'd seen as he'd been thinking about being an Auror. And he'd somehow gotten into his head that learning sign language might help him with that someday somehow. So by the time he'd seen the fourth flyer, he'd determined to go. Jacob was surprised to see someone he did know fairly well when he entered. "Summers! Heeey" he called out with a grin as he settled into a seat, slouched into it was a more accurate description of how he was sitting. "Are we doing introductions then? I'm Jacob Kingsley. Gryffindor" he stated before he was asked.

 

[Mary Lou Layton]

Flyers were not usually something that Mary Lou would look at, especially when it came to magical groups at the school, but as it had been pointed out to her, these particular flyers were for something not magical, which was sign language. Being friends with Beau, she'd thought a bit about the way he communicated with her. Most of it was from his side and to be honest she always felt lazy when she spoke to Beau because she didn't really have to do anything so she wanted to do something for him after he'd been such a good friend to her. Once she got to the Abandoned classroom, she looked inside to see a couple of other people in the room, none of whom she knew though so she was really scared to go in. She was good with this fort of situation though, she knew how to present herself and it wasn't like this was about magic or anything at all, so, this was more of her element than the rest of the year had been so far. "Hello?" She called as she walked in. She didn't know anything about the girl who was running this, but she was hoping to find out more.​

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene made her way to the abandened classroom. she had seen fliers around the school advertising learning sign language. it had reminded her of the other divination professors son who she had met a couple of months ago who was deaf. and the other divination professor who she would be studying with next year. it would be good to learn a little bit. at least so that the first year didnt feel quite so alone. She entered the room and saw the flower queen at the front with a few students. she had never spoken to Mhairi before but she knew she ran the wild patch and that showed by the amount of flowers in the classroom, "Hello is this where the sign language class is?" she aasked realisng that she didn't really know anyone there. the person she knew most would have been jacob kingsley who she had met when her mum had visited his but she had spent more of the day hanging out with his sister and her dolls whereas heli had spent more time admiring his camera. instead of talking to people she just loitered awkwardly at the edge of the group.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë had been quite intrigued when she had noticed posters around the school that mentioned lessons about sign language. She didn't know anyone she had to use sign language for but she knew there were some students around the school who were deaf and she wanted to learn in case she would run into one of them. Or anyone that communicated in sign language within or outside the school walls really. Being bilingual always made her aware of how nice it could be when someone you don't expect turns out to speak your language, to be able to communicate in a way that is familiar to you. The gryffindor noticed multiple people already there as she entered the room, which made her believe she was in the right place. Either that or she was intruding a meeting between an interesting variety of kids. She smiled confidently as she made her way into the room and took a seat. She didn't really know any of these people but that made everything even more interesting.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija was already proficient in sign language, considering his older sister had spent her whole life talking to him and their family with her hands, and hearing that Mhairi was going to be holding a session to introduce sign language to others around the school, Ilija had plucked up the courage to stop by. He would have been quite happy to sit at the back and watch the Hufflepuff teach the others, but he felt like he might be a good bridge between them too if any difficulties arose. Mhairi had managed this long not to need any help, but Ilija couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed on her behalf. He entered the room behind one of the Ravenclaw girls, who seemed a little confused if she’d arrived at the right place. It was still intimidating for the fifth year to speak to people like her given the judgement he’d received from younger girls last year, but he couldn’t stop himself saying yes as he passed her, quickly confirming she was in the right room if this is where she wanted to be. There were more people in the room than he thought would turn up, and sending a nervous smile to his sister and hoping she wasn’t about to talk to him in front of everyone, the blonde slid into a seat near the edge of the classroom.​

 

[Lina Olaf]

It would have been accurate to say that Lina had grown apart from Mhairi since they’d joined the school. They may have been twins but they were very different people. For one, there was nothing that would have gotten Lina to stand up in front of a room full of people and try to teach them, especially if she couldn’t hear anything. With graduation looming, the Slytherin had seen the posters around the school and wanted to be there for the seventh year, even if she’d missed out on so much when Mhairi had walked away with her own independence. It was refreshing to see how far she’d come. She noticed her brother too, but asides from one of Gryffindors, it looked more or less as though there were just baby students here to learn. She had half hoped Shane would be around too, although perhaps that was wishful thinking, he was probably busy planning his next party. “Hey,” she took a seat near Jacob instead, refusing to acknowledge the younger people in the room and feeling a little out of place amongst them all. ​

 

[Majora Valentine]

Majora had once tried to teach himself sign language with very little success. He had two friends back home that communicated with it, although that had been more of a secret language between the pair so they could talk to each other without interference as opposed to because it was the best way for them. He did hope he wasn’t the only first year to attend, and as soon as he reached the abandoned classroom he saw one of the girls from his classes, the same one that had been hiding under the chairs watching Quidditch. “Mary?” He sent the blonde a smile, hoping that his presence would be as secretly reassuring for her as hers was for him. Beyond the scene that went down during the game, he didn’t really know too much about his classmate. He slumped into one of the nearest chairs, realising that this seemed familiar to an actual lesson and hoping they wouldn’t have to do too much work. This was supposed to be something fun wasn’t it? His eyes glanced around the room at the vast age range, it being strange to the first year to be sharing a space with people from all over the school.​

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ever since meeting Beau, Ajax had found a new interest in learning sign language, he had picked it up relatively fast when he’d been talking with Beau, but upon being told by someone else that there would be a class on it, he had found it impossible to resist. There was so much that he wanted to learn and thought that such a class would be a really good opportunity to do so, even if he felt like he’d end up knowing perhaps a fraction more than others. He hoped it wouldn’t be too slow a class, but Ajaccio knew that for him it probably would be. To anyone else it probably wouldn’t. He headed into the abandoned classroom and was a little surprised at the decor of the room. It was very flowery and he noted that the girl at the front was the leader of the wild patch, so perhaps that was why. In the room he spotted Lysander and Chloe and decided to head over to Chloe. ”Hey Chloe, this is exciting!” he said to her in french with a little smile. He then glanced around the room to the others in it, he didn’t really know anyone else, ”I know a little already, but I’m so eager to learn more,” he told her, switching back to english with her. ​

 

[Mhairi Olaf]

Apologies for the delay. Sickness took me down this week!! ​

Mhairi smiled as Jenna told her her name, and she wrote the younger Hufflepuffs name up on the board too. She didn’t really mind if the students wanted to take a seat or draw, although she would be starting soon and it was probably easier to see her and follow what she was doing if they took a seat soon. As Mhairi looked up she realised a number of students had joined them now, and she spotted her brother helping someone who seemed a little hesitant in the doorway but sent the girl a reassuring smile herself. Of course the seventh year wanted to give everyone a moment to welcome one another and talk to their friends, but it was important too that she take everyone’s names for what would be coming up next. She recognised a few people but she continued to turn to the rest of the class, raising her wand in the air, “Names?” She asked, chalk ready in hand and glad there weren’t too many people. She glanced at the students in turn, watching their lips closely. “We will start in a moment,” she added, hoping everyone would get comfortable. ​

 

[Jenna Jusantrea -Maxwell]

Jenna smiled when she was enjoy this. She wanted find with somoune and make together work. "Can i be with you?" Jenna asked Lysander and hoped he would be don't mind. Jenna never vanted work alone and she was that person who loved worked with others.

@Lysander Summers

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander paused his drawing when he heard someone call his name, and turned to face his team captain with a grin of his own. "Hey!" He said cheerfully, happy to see another familiar face in the group. He still wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the meeting, aside from the obvious goal. So far, the only people were those he knew, and since he'd introduced himself to the leader of the Wild Patch earlier, he figured he didn't have to again. More people trickled in, and he eventually finished his chalk flower drawing and moved to take a seat next to Jacob. He stopped when Jenna asked to be with him, and his smile brightened. "Sure! You can join me!" He told her, before settling in a seat next to Jacob and offering the spare one on his other side for the Hufflepuff girl to take. It was going to be good to have people he could practice with after the makeshift class was over.​

 

[Jenna Jusantrea -Maxwell]

"Thanks, Lys! Can i call you that, if you don't mind?" Jenna was happy when he says, she can join with him. Jenna take her sit and started draw. Yes, she was a realy talanted drawning and singing to.

 

[Hermione Walden]

Hermione knew she was running late for the sign language lesson but she was determined to take it so it was better late than to miss it. The seventh year managed to sneak in as the instructor, her fellow seventh year Mhairi was taking names so she decided she would just blend in with the group and pretend she'd been there the whole time unless challenge. She smiled at her classmate when it came time to introduce herself. "Hermione Walden," She said being clear to enunciate so Mhairi could read her lips.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë had been patiently waiting for the lesson to start after she had taken het seat, although she had also curiously been observing the other students in the room. “Hi!” She smiled when Ajax came up to her. It didn’t even surprise her to see him here as well since the boy seemed to have a knack for languages, or an interest in them at the very least. “I know right?” She replied, still glad that she had someone she could speak in french with at the school. Even if she was a bit more careful after she had found herself being the subject of a gossip piece after the halloween feast. “I don’t know anything.” She admitted. “I’m super curious about it though!” Chloë continued before turning her attention towards the older girl who was bow asking for names. “Chloe.” She clearly stated, wondering if it was bad that she used the more english pronounciation as she thought that would be easier for the girl to understand.

 

[Mhairi Olaf]

Mhairi watched the class carefully, noting down their names in turn. Hermione, Ilija, Lina, Chloe. There were still a few odd bods that the Hufflepuff hadn't caught yet, but she figured that when they got started, they'd want to add their names too so she kept a watchful eye. Taking out her wand, she cleared her throat, before motioning in the air. It was always easier to write in the air with capitals since she had to write them backwards for the others to be able to read them from the other side, but at least she felt as though she had a lot of space to work with. Most of the time if she was talking face to face, it could be a little awkward with words between them. "I want you today to begin to learn the alphabet. By the end of the session, you should be able to spell your own name." she explained. The words would stay in the air for a short while which gave the students a class to read it before she moved on. "We will begin with the vowels. And then I will help you with your other letters." she felt as though having five letters as a starting point would be reasonably simple, especially when it came to trying to work on a larger group. "We're learning New Zealand Sign Language. Sign isn't universal, so not everything will translate correctly across if you're speaking to someone who is using American Sign Language, for e.g. That being said, for the alphabet, the individual letters are the same if you're spelling out British, Australian or New Zealand Sign. We will use two hands. American uses one." Repocketing her wand, she turned back to the board, and drew the five vowels in large letters in chalk before turning back to the group, hoping she wasn't going too fast. A was the first, and the Hufflepuff positioned her hands in a way that would be clearly seen (as long as people were paying her attention). She was pointing at the thumb on her left hand, giving everyone a moment to copy. Thankfully her siblings seemed to be helping her out in this regard, and both Ilija and Lina had copied her hand motion. For E, Mhairi switched to point at her index finger instead. She did this for all five vowels, pointing in turn to the five digits on her hand. There, they already knew five letters and she'd only been doing this for a minute.​

Here's the diagram of what the hand motions look like for reference​

 

[Hermione Walden]

Hermione fell in with the group and watched as Mhairi began to go through individual letters of the alphabet, starting with the vowels. She watched as Mhairi went through the letters one at a time and followed her hand movements, she pointed at her thumb on her left hand for an A, she moved onto point at her index finger for E, then her middle finger for I and she continued to do this until she had gone through the symbols for all of the vowels. Once they had finished the first run through Hermione continued to practice on her own until Mhairi moved on.