Virginia Beach Catholic school learns sign language for Christmas carols Spreading joy without spreading germs and last updated 2020-12-24 18:12:17-05 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. â Students and staff at Saint John the Apostle Catholic Church in Virginia Beach are doing their best to spread holiday cheer without spreading germs. Students from preschool to eighth grade have learned sign language motions to traditional Christmas carols instead of singing them since that is known to spread droplets into the air. Their music teacher, Caroline Waite, said theyâve been learning about musicals, and she said she wanted to do something for Christmas even though they couldnât hold their traditional concert. This year, they've avoided singing as well as playing instruments since those are sometime shared - or in the case of wind instruments, can project droplets.