By NICOLE VALICEK
Seaholme Primary School will join schools across Australia for a sing-along. 106039 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
SEAHOLME Primary School will participate in an event that will encourage students to foster a love of music through learning, play and listening.
The school will hold Music: Count Us In on Thursday 31 October along with more than half a million school students across Australia from Kindergarten to Year 12.
Across Australia, the students will sing the same song at the same time.
Registrations are now open for schools to get access to free support materials and classroom activity resources.This year’s ‘song that stops the nation’ has a great pedigree.
Titled Keep On, the song was penned by four talented students who were mentored by singer songwriter Katie Noonan.
“I am a big believer in music in education,” Ms Noonan said.
“Music was an important part of my life while I was growing up, so I’m really excited to be involved in mentoring students as part of Music: Count Us In.
The Music: Count Us In program also delivers music professional development (PD) to classroom teachers.
Seaholme Primary School music teacher Johannah Bansky said they first heard about the program, designed to bring music to the forefront of schools, seven years ago when it first started in the United States.
“I decided to join in and have done so ever since,” she said.
“The students look forward to the new songs each year and it is an opportunity to work together to develop a whole school performance.”
“The students usually do the choreography and they learn to play different rhythms and the melody as they explore the song.”
Ms Bansky said the whole school joins in on day, so that is about 280 students, teachers and teacher aides.
Parents are invited to come along and join the song.
“It is over in a few minutes, but it is a great feeling when everyone is singing together and knowing that there are over half a million others out there singing too.”
This year the event will be held at 12.30pm Thursday 31 October.
