Emerald Ridge High ASL Team Shines at State Competition

Photo courtesy of ASL Instructor and Club Advisor Jessica Mattson.

Pictured (L-R): Lily McCray, Sienna Rogers, Summer Kukla, Amelie Smolko, Molly Morgan, Jessica Mattson. Not pictured: Jayden Heaps

Earlier this month, the Emerald Ridge High School American Sign Language (ASL) team once again showcased their talent and teamwork at the Washington State ASL-CTE State Competition. Competing among the top 12 teams statewide, the Jaguars delivered an impressive performance across all events, earning top individual honors and placing 4th overall as a team.

The state competition featured four categories, testing students’ ability to demonstrate their expressive and receptive signing skills, knowledge of Deaf culture and history, and their capacity for creative collaboration.

In the Individual Receptive Skills competition, where students view signed stories and select the proper English translation, seniors Sienna Rogers and Amelie Smolko finished in first and second place, respectively. At the team collaboration event, Emerald Ridge placed third overall, having created an original story using all 26 handshapes of the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet.

Sophomore Lily McCray earned third place among all alternates. Additional team members Jayden Heaps (junior), Summer Kukla (sophomore), and Molly Morgan (freshman, Ferrucci Junior High) all contributed to the team’s overall fourth-place finish.

Please join us in congratulating these outstanding students for their hard work, creativity, and for representing Emerald Ridge at the state competition!