St. Joseph's School for the Deaf Students in the Classrooms at St. Joseph School for the Deaf

St. Joseph School for the Deaf follows the government curriculum in classes from pre-school to high school.  The teaching staff are well-trained and particularly dedicated to a demanding profession made the more difficult by the communications difficulties involved with deaf children.

	Classes in deaf schools are smaller than in hearing schools because of the greater difficulties with communication and the extra time and attention it requires.
	Sr. Malanie makes a point dramatically for her class.
	Sr. Nirmalie helps her students with a lesson on the Sinhala language.
	Obviously the photographer is a great distraction to this class.
	This little boy gets some individual help from his teacher.
	Older students in a math class.  I was pleasantly surprised to see St. Joseph students learning rather advanced math.
	Schools in Sri Lanka are rather strict about uniforms. Younger boys wear blue shorts and white shirts at St. Joseph's.  The girls wear white dresses with their hair in braids tied with black ribbon.
	The teacher salaries at St. Joseph's, a private Catholic school, are paid by the government although the sisters retain control of the school.
	Everybody turns around to look at the photographer.
	These third-grade students were having a wonderful time with computers. They used simple children's programs to help them learn English.  Students must take their shoes off in the computer rooms which are donated by HSBC Bank.
	One of the teachers goes over a girl's homework with her.
	St. Joseph's has a very active and well-run pre-school children.  Children as young as two or three come with their mother or father for several hours a week so the parents can learn to stimulate the child's education at home.
	Because there was an obvious need and no one else in the area was providing for it, St. Joseph's added a class of children with intellectual disabilities.  This program is separate from the deaf program.

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