Nearly everyone knows about the Christmas tradition of singing carols, but what about signing carols? This Wednesday, during 5th period, the ASL (American Sign Language) 4 class did exactly that – and they left no gingerbread crumbs. 

For the past four years, Kyra Britto and her ASL 4 students have been serenading AV classrooms with ASL holiday carols. Even though the carolers don’t sing, they demonstrate what it means for music to be universal.

“Deaf people can have access to music as well. I think that’s a common misconception that because they’re deaf, they don’t get to experience the joy of music. Bringing that to the wider community can educate people on a community that they are unfamiliar with,” said Britto. 

Preparing and learning the performance was short, only taking about three days. A crucial part of their learning was using an ASL script, called a gloss. The class studied the gloss, practiced it in chunks, and put it all together to create an expressive, festive choreography.

“I practiced a lot with our class. [Mrs. Britto] makes us sign every day and puts on the music and choreography, but also, [we practice] during access, or outside of school, or at home. It’s a lot of practicing, and it’s really fun because even if you don’t understand how to do it, you have friends who will help you,” said ASL student Maxine Dye (‘26). 

The ASL 4 class consists of seniors who have spent nearly all four years of high school together learning ASL. Even though many take ASL because it seems easy, the class is far from it. Students develop a close bond with their classmates and teacher, but they also come to love learning ASL. Not only that, they are able to benefit from the experiences and opportunities that come from it. 

“It’s a really fun tradition that ASL 4 gets to do, and I’d be really sad to see it go. But I think it’s a great way for the rest of the school to see how tight of a community ASL really becomes,” said Dye. 

The ASL carolers’ silent performance was well-received in each class. Many audience members were smiling, some even singing along to the song playing. During the song’s music break, the carolers performed a playful dance routine, much to the delight of the audience.

“I thought it was cute. It looked very fun. I hope they’ll do it again next year,” said Isabella Marx (‘28)

Fortunately, Britto shows no sign of stopping what she hopes can become a schoolwide tradition. After all, the only thing that it has done is spread holiday spirit, ASL awareness, and cheer to all.

“Around the holidays, things can get really monotonous. You know, [you have to] study for finals, do all these academic things. I think the purpose of this was to bring a little joy and fun to academics,” said Britto.