By Derek Schlennstedt
Primary school students across the country are busy practising for the Music: Count Us In initiative.
Created in 2006 by Music Australia, the Count Us In initiative is celebrating its 11th year and is Australia’s biggest schools program.
The program encourages young people to become passionate about music and music education and has students from across the country singing the same song, on the same day.
One of the many schools taking part in the initiative will be the Dandenong Ranges’ own Upwey Primary School.
This is the school’s first year taking part in the initiative, though principal Laura Kaddy said music was a big part of the curriculum at Upwey Primary.
“In our school music is really important and the kids have an hour lesson each week to participate in music activities and we also run an instrumental program with the Upwey Music Council too,” she said.
The students in Grade 2-3 will learn the entire song and then teach the rest of the school before the performance date on 2 November.
Ms Kaddy said the students were all excited to come together as a school and perform this year’s song ‘Shine Together,” and that the entire school community would be invited to the performance
“Our music teacher is teaching it to the students in her class; with the view that once they’re confident with it they’ll learn it and they’ll be able to teach it to the rest of the school … it really empowers them.
“We’re going to do a group singing of the song, in a nice spot in the school, and film it and invite parents along to watch,” Ms Kaddy said.
The students said they enjoyed the Music: Count Us In song along with the drumming and percussion which they often partook in.
“We do a bit of drumming, it’s fun and exhausting,” they said.
Each year students from all across the country are chosen to write next year’s song. This year’s was written by five student songwriters – Makayla Forbes, Elliena Escott, Marcus Yeo, Tiffany Yeo and Dandenong Ranges’ own Sadie Mustow.
Working directly with schools and teachers, Music: Count Us In exists to assist teachers in providing quality music education and to address the gap in specialist music education provision in many Australian schools.
Students from all across Australia will be singing their hearts out in November and the students at Upwey Primary School will be among them.
