Hello to everyone😃. Every corner of our Music Program has continued as an absolute delight these past two weeks. Thank you to the JSC and the 56 Neighbourhood for leading our first assembly for the year, and to our Senior Choir for leading our community singing. Our IM lessons have started smoothly, and across the Neighbourhoods we have ventured further, sometimes on the planned trail, and sometimes heading off down a ‘rabbit hole’ of related student interest. We have explored deep breathing, a ‘Golden Oldie’ song from the 1920’s, and I’ve been hearing exciting reports of a ‘concert to remember’ from our ‘Swiftie’ fans. Please read on via the link…

As a community that comes together to sing at school, we know the warm and joyous feeling of singing together, and the sense of belonging we share. For the duration of singing a song, everything of our busy day can slide away, our bodies are refreshed by the vibrations of our voices, and if we sang for two or three songs, our collective heart rates would beat ‘as one’. Imagine singing, as I’m sure many of our community can and indeed did do, in an arena far greater than our gym and with a musician who has eclipsed the world. Imagine being carried away in song with ninety six thousand other people, not to roar a devoted soccer/footy chant, but to add your voice to melodies with lyrics that speak to your hearts and resonate with our times. For those who attended the Taylor Swift concerts, you have memories for life. When we peel away all the layers of showbiz and marketing, as Swift did do when singing solo with just a guitar, we too can all express the essence of what it means to be human through story telling with music. This is why it’s so thrilling for me when children bowl up to tell me that they have written a song.

Across the school we have been thinking about breathing. Breathing as fuel for singing, breathing for refreshing our posture and concentration, and breathing for calmness. Breathing re-oxygenates our blood. The junior students were amazed at how much their ribs can expand with a deep relaxed breath, ‘Mine went up and down and everywhere’ Coco from Yr 1 shared. When we sit comfortably straight, or stand, we become better breathers… and the bit I like… we can sing with a full wholesome tone. We sound great, kids start smiling, and ‘Ta -Da!!’, the energy returns even though it’s 34 degrees.

I have enjoyed a couple of great sessions with the Yr1s and 2s learning the fun song ‘Aba Daba Honeymoon’ which most of us may know from the 1967 Disney animation ‘The Jungle Book’. First published in 1914, it was later made famous amongst a new generation by actress Debbie Reynolds in the 1950 film ‘Two Weeks in Love’. Skip forward again to the ‘Jungle Book’ of 1967, and again to more recent remakes of this film, and generations for a hundred years have been Aba Dabadabadab-ing this fun catchy tune! Like the old time PHPS favourite ‘Chickory Chick’, songs with nonsense patter are great for pattern, rhyme and building literacy. Thanks for jumping on board for the fun Yr1 and 2.

Our Super Prep 🌟s are starting to prepare for their first singing ‘gig’, and you guessed it, it’s time to prepare for the annual Teddy Bears Picnic. Families with older siblings will remember the the excitement of this occasion, and the joy of learning the song. Here again, is another song which has inspired generations. First written as a ‘two-step’ dance or marching tune in 1907 by the American composer John Bratton, the lyrics of Irish writer Jimmy Kennedy were added in 1932. Kennedy was inspired by a small wooded area near his home, and one can easily imagine how such a picnic story could emerge. Let’s not forget the magic and wonder of the ‘Hundred Acre Wood’ of Winnie the Pooh! Please be assured that the Teddy Bears Picnics are very inclusive occasions, and we welcome cuddly bunnies, octopuses, friends and relations and aardvarks too. The Preps are also enjoying the choreographed music and movement routines of musician/researcher John Feierabend, and dancing the ‘Hokey Pokey’ with our body parts named in Woi Wurrung languge.

Our 34 Neighbourhoods are fabulous singers and many of the students are also in the Choir. As we were rehearsing ‘Australians Let Us Stand As One’ for assembly we discussed how this Anthem, originally written in the 1880s has changed as our nation has grown. The word ‘era’ was one that the students were curious to unpack. An example that emerged, as we identified that customs and popular opinion change with the times, was how different schools are now from the way they were even fifty years ago. One of the differences the students identified was that children feel ‘safe’ to have a go at their learning, and that children learn best when they are happy and confident to ask questions, instead of being worried that they might get into trouble for not knowing an answer.

I mentioned in the last Talking Point that junior students love to get inventive with music literacy. When a quarter note, traditionally called a ‘crotchet’, gets renamed a ‘cockroach’, you just have to run with it! We have Minions and squashed hats too. The students do know the correct note names and values, but all the fun nicknames are about helping basic music reading to be accessible. By the way, cockroaches also eat guitar ‘E strings’, and fry them, once you’ve located ‘F’ on your guitar. It has been a super fun and productive start to the IM year. Some student lesson groups have been ‘tweaked’ to support students’ needs and the IM teachers are delighted that nearly everyone is remembering to come to their lesson. When students arrive on time, this saves the IM teacher from walking across the school to find them which takes valuable learning time away from the lesson. From the IM Team, another warm thank you to everyone who has helped to make our first two teaching Fridays run so smoothly.

In the 56 Neighbourhood, we are stepping up the pace with our ukulele playing. Having revised the three most common chords, we have added a 4th, and now are looking at chords that require 3 fingers to play. It’s a ‘brain to the gym’ coordination challenge, but once students feel confident finding 3 finger chords, the range of songs available to them to play will explode! It’s been a rewarding joy to help students build confidence in their uke skills so that they can become independent players of songs which resonate with them.

Thank you to everyone for a lovely couple of weeks. Happy days to all, Deb