The Song Room Web Site

Resurrection School (VIC) WINS $50k Schools First Impact Award for Song Room partnership

Winners for the NAB Schools First Award winners for 2011 were announced 15th September 2011 and Resurrection Primary School (VIC) was one of 60 schools to receive a $50,000 Imact Grant. Resurrection Primary School’s partnership with The Song Room has been pivotal in introducing music, not only in class learning, but across the spectrum of the school’s activities, as a means of enhancing students’  engagement at school, self-confidence and connectedness with each other.

What the judges said: "A very good program with clear targets that provides positive student outcomes. It is clear the quality of the program was founded on strong planning and ongoing review, and that the partners are heavily committed to its long term success"

The partnership also enhances the schools links with the broader community.  Resurrection PS students participated in a 6 month in-school music workshop program, delivered by TSR Teaching Artist (TA) Zoë Barry in consultation with school teachers on specific needs of culturally diverse students with language backgrounds other than English. Zoe’s tailored program focused on making music in groups, through creative and improvised singing, basic percussion, performance and development of class compositions.

The program built towards an inter-school performance at Melbourne Town Hall, offering students the opportunity to share and perform skills and concepts they have been learning with other school students and families. A key foundation for the success of program delivery was to incorporate the outcomes of classroom based music learning in the broader activities of the school, such as recording songs for playback on the School Radio Station, developing a School Chant for use at performances and sporting events, presenting musical performances at assemblies and singing Christmas Carols at the local nursing home and shopping centre.

The next stage of this partnership aims to break new ground by combining TSR’s launch of a highly innovative new online music learning application, PingMusic; with development of a bespoke music program for the school. The school aims to embed a sustainable and independently run singing and Ukulele program in the curriculum by 2013, making the ukulele the ‘school instrument’ and building the capacity of every teacher to deliver music education in the classroom.