It was a song to celebrate music education in Canada, and from Fitzgerald Academy in English Harbour West to J.C. Erhardt Memorial in Makkovik, students were singing along.
At 2:30 p.m. NDT Monday, 700,000 students in 2,168 schools across Canada participated in "Music Monday," a project of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. The project had students stopping their day, singing a piece of music from Juno award-winning musician Serena Ryder. The song was titled "Sing! Sing!"
There was no cost for schools to take part in the event, and 50 schools and organizations in this province decided to do so.
At St. Teresa's school, music teacher Leslie Stuckless decided to add the song to the end of her choral class, opting not to take up a few minutes as opposed to time that might have been required for a full school assembly. Stuckless said events such as the Olympics and the Junos had included the opportunity for larger assemblies, and the school also has a Spring concert coming up.
Even so, acknowledging music in the curriculum was important to the school and to her personally, she said. Originally from Nova Scotia, Stuckless came to Newfoundland and Labrador to study music education at Memorial University. She said keeping music in the school curriculum has been a hard fight in her home province. It is different from the atmosphere here, she said.
"There's such advocacy for music here in Newfoundland," Stuckless said. "That's why I love it here."
The teacher said the elementary students at St. Teresa's have three music classes within a seven-day cycled schedule.
"Two are music classroom classes and one would be choir," she said. "I try to teach the kids that they're lucky to have music. People fight to keep music in the schools and they have so much opportunity."
Stuckless was asked what the "Music Monday" sing-a-long might do for the students.
"I hope it lifted them. Because when one person sings, it's nice; a group of people, it's great ... but to be part of something this big," Stuckless shook her head, searching for words.
"Everybody can sing," she said.
afitzpatrick@thetelegram.com
Students 'Sing! Sing!' together
Students at St. Teresa's School in St. John's end their choral class Monday by singing "Sing! Sing!" by Serena Ryder. The students sang simultaneously with students across Canada as part of Music Monday, celebrating music education in Canada. - Photo by A
Song performed simultaneously across Canada
It was a song to celebrate music education in Canada, and from Fitzgerald Academy in English Harbour West to J.C. Erhardt Memorial in Makkovik, students were singing along.
At 2:30 p.m. NDT Monday, 700,000 students in 2,168 schools across Canada participated in "Music Monday," a project of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. The project had students stopping their day, singing a piece of music from Juno award-winning musician Serena Ryder. The song was titled "Sing! Sing!"
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