Page 19 - Year in Review 2020

WHAT WE SAW IN 2020
CREATIVITY AND CONNECTION
During 2020 people were disconnected from their friends and family, and well-being plummeted.
This program was an
outstanding vehicle to engage
parents. Our involvement with
The Song Room was one of
the highlights of a very
difficult year.”
BRONWYN SMITH, GEELONG ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRE
Very early in the pandemic, the importance of music and the Arts to bring people together, to provide moments of joy and relief, and to provide an outlet to help people make sense of what was going on was clear.
The Song Room understood this important role within a school community context. In addition to supporting students and teachers with practical tools to ensure learning continued during the upheaval, we also recognised that we had a unique opportunity to reach beyond the classroom to connect and help mitigate the impact of the pandemic across the entire school community.
This was perfectly demonstrated through a Virtual Choir that brought together students, parents, siblings, teachers and the entire school staff at Geelong English Language Centre (GELC). Tess Duddy, our Teaching Artist in the Geelong region, was aware of the challenges faced by the school’s cohort of migrant families. Many had limited access to or understanding of technology and the Australian school system, which was exacerbated by the social issues resulting from COVID-19. It was no mean feat to get the whole school on board.
The learning focus for the school during term two was seasons and weather, so the song Have You Ever Seen the Rain by John Fogerty was the perfect song choice
for the community engagement project. Tess created a video which helped CALD students practice speaking the lyrics, and another to sing along with. A preview video of teachers singing the song was made to build excitement amongst students and parents. Students created weather related props with the help of family at home, and staff worked on various aspects of creating and producing their Virtual Choir.
In the end, it was not only the teachers and classes who were already participating in The Song Room program who took part in the Virtual Choir, but also a number of teachers who Tess hadn’t worked with and entire classes of students she had never met. As momentum grew the project became a school-wide undertaking across three campuses, and was much bigger than anyone initially
thought was possible.
We took activities to teachers and families that were meaningful and fun as well as useful learning opportunities. Connecting online
gave us access to the wider school
community who found joy and hope when they were experiencing isolation.
REMOTE LEARNING ARTS:LIVE
IMAGE: THE SONG ROOM
19 THE SONG ROOM: 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW