As each vocabulary item can be signed in multiple ways, four principles have been adopted to streamline signing practices for use in teaching among staff and students so that they may sign consistently.

There are old forms and new forms for some basic signs. Take for instance the sign for 'north'. In the old form the little finger is extended while in the new form it is not. As the hand shape for the new form is similar to the shape of the Chinese character 'north', the school adopts the new form for 'north'.

Old form

New form

Some signs are changed as hearing-impaired people them by sight. The sign for Tuen Mum was originally formed by the hands taking the shape of the Chinese character for 'Tuen' and signing 'door'. Later it was changed to both hand signing 'k’ and 'door'. As the latter is a corruption, the school adopts the original sign that looks like the Chinese character Tuen and the sign for 'door'.

Errors stem from losing track of the origins of certain signs. The sign for 'Jordan' was originally derived from mimicking a double-decker ferry at the Jordan Road Ferry Pier, but later it was mistakenly understood as deriving from the sign for the former American basketball star Michael Jordan. As the latter is a case of misunderstanding, the school opts for the original sign that mimics a double-decker ferry at the Jordan Road Pier.

Some signs have overseas origins as they have been directly adopted from signs in other places. As local hearing-impaired communities did not want to sign the American president Barack Obama awkwardly as 'Olympics + bus + horse', they have adopted the sign used by the hearing-impaired people in the United States instead. As a result the school adopts the sign commonly used by local hearing-impaired communities as well.