A group of six students from different schools have been coming together for the past two years to study NZSL as an NCEA subject at Levels 1 and 2.

Every Wednesday morning, the students arrive at 8 am and work hard for 1.5 hours, with our Pollyanna (Resource Teacher of the Deaf), onsite and Head of Department for NZSL, Paula, via Zoom. The students also have additional Zoom sessions with Paula during the week from their home school.

Once or twice a term Paula travels to Wellington to work with eight students at the Wellington Deaf Club from after school until early evening. This is not only a great learning opportunity, but also the opportunity to meet in a culturally Deaf way in a Deaf space. Through these sessions, the students have built a rapport with one another and fostered an environment of trust where they can express their emotions - we've had tears and laughter!

Over the year we've observed the students enjoying being together and communicating in NZSL. They are all really committed to attending these classes alongside their other subjects at school. They often talk about how much easier it is to communicate with one another in NZSL and that they don't feel alone, like in the mainstream.

To witness our students' learning and growth in NZSL is extremely rewarding for us as Deaf teachers. It has again highlighted why this best practice learning model is successful for Deaf and hard of hearing akonga, and it has been a privilege to witness this first hand.