Deaf and hard of hearing students bond through beach games in annual event

Emily Fagan · CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 7:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Olivia Eassie is 1 of conscionable 2 students who are deaf oregon hard of proceeding astatine Spectrum Community School successful Saanich, B.C., but she says she's ne'er been self-conscious astir it.

That's successful ample portion acknowledgment to the consciousness of assemblage and empowerment she gets from section events, similar the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Beach Day, which was held on Wednesday astatine Cadboro-Gyro Park successful Saanich, a municipality successful the Greater Victoria area.

"My mom's adjacent told me, don't beryllium insecure astir it — and I've told her: 'I'm not, I honestly ne'er person been.' I mean, this makes maine consciousness comfy that I'm deaf erstwhile I'm here," Eassie said, looking astir astatine a radical of students playing tug-of-war.

The beach day, which welcomed 85 deaf and hard of proceeding students from crossed Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, on with teachers and parents, is an yearly lawsuit hosted by the Greater Victoria School District.

For much than 30 years, it's brought students from kindergarten to Grade 12 unneurotic with games and crystal cream, successful the hopes of them gathering friendships and enactment networks, said Megan Jantz, a teacher for the deaf and hard of proceeding successful the district. 

At a clip erstwhile teachers and parents crossed the state are calling for B.C. to nonstop fiscal alleviation to schoolhouse districts they accidental are facing accrued backing pressures — and constricted resources to conscionable the needs of students with disabilities — it's a invited infinitesimal of celebration. 

"That's benignant of our aim, to person fun, marque connections, and for the kids to conscionable different kids similar themselves — because typically they're [one of] similar 1 oregon 2 lone successful a full school," said Jantz.  

"They've said they conscionable consciousness little unsocial and tin beryllium much their existent aforesaid successful environments and situations similar this."

In addition, the lawsuit helps students larn however others person flooded mundane challenges oregon advocated for themselves, she said. 

Beach games

This year, students did carnival activities, undertook a braille scavenger hunt, chased down "Waldo" — which was Jantz, dressed successful a candy-cane striped garment and a pom-pom winter chapeau – and competed successful an Amazing Race-style competition.

The time ended with the 3 winners of the Amazing Race heaving a trophy implicit their heads during an awards ceremony, as onlookers raised their unfastened palms, twisting their wrists — a raucous applause successful American Sign Language.

There were besides section disablement agencies connected hand to fto students and their families know astir resources.

Grade 11 pupil Eassie has been attending the formation time since she was successful simple schoolhouse and met 1 of her closest friends, different miss with proceeding loss, astatine the lawsuit years ago. Now, Eassie volunteers astatine the formation day. 

Eassie said seeing the faces of younger students airy up portion playing games oregon chatting lifts her ain spirits.

"You don't spot a batch of different kids with cochlears, oregon having the aforesaid benignant of acquisition that you had, but this spot does that for you," said Eassie, who wears 2 cochlear implants tucked betwixt her ears and braided hair.

Funding concerns measurement connected educators

Earlier this week, educators and parents raised concerns astir backing for disablement services and different programs successful schools.

On Monday, a radical of parents across the state rallied astatine the B.C. Legislature, calling for much backing for nationalist acquisition arsenic galore districts look fund shortfalls and the menace of looming cuts.  

Carolyn Howe, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers' Association, said lone 70 per cent of the outgo for moving services for students with disabilities is covered by the state — which tin pb to different schoolhouse programs similar euphony acquisition being chopped back.

A survey released by the B.C. Teachers' Federation successful its 2023-24 study found only 13 per cent of the province's teachers felt the needs of students with disabilities oregon divers needs were being wholly met. 

The yearly Deaf and Hard of Hearing Beach Day is imaginable owed to partial provincial funding, Jantz said. Although the backing is not presently nether threat, she said the schoolhouse territory has constricted resources.

She is 1 of conscionable 3 deaf and hard of proceeding teachers providing in-school advocacy and enactment crossed the Greater Victoria School District, which she says leaves them "spread rather thin." Accessibility tools — like classroom assisted listening devices and interpreters — also travel astatine a cost. 

"Funding is decidedly hard, but we enactment a tiny spot of our fund to this [event] due to the fact that we cognize the value and worth of this."

Events similar the formation time show the value of pushing for these services, some successful the schoolroom and out, she said.

"I really person graduated students who are successful assemblage and assemblage asking maine erstwhile they tin travel and unpaid due to the fact that they spot the worth of the friendships that they've made here, the connections that they've made … conscionable to spot that they're not unsocial is huge," she said.