Music may soothe the savage beast, but it sure as heck has the opposite effect on a gymnasium full of elementary school students.
Youngsters at Woodcrest Public School broke into spontaneous conga lines on Monday, strutting their stuff to the beats of Elvis Presley, Bob Seger and Little Eva, joining a 700,000-strong national Music Monday celebration.
Not even the rainy weather, that forced the event indoors, could temper student and teacher enthusiasm at Woodcrest, one of several Lakehead Public School facilities taking part in the event. Music is important to students of all ages, said 14-year-old Daniel Davoudpour, a Grade 8 student at Woodcrest.
“Music is cultural and as humans we enjoy listening to music,” Daniel said, as the gymnasium cleared behind him. “Some people it’s just in them and some people it allows them to express what they feel and what they think of and their personal opinion in music.
“The song we sang today, (Luke Doucet’s) Tomorrow is Coming, that was the meaning of the song, that you can express your opinions and feelings though music.”
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The eighth annual Music Monday was just fun to be a part of, he added.
“It was pretty fun to watch the kids just having a good time and just enjoying music,” he said.
School-mate Bryanna Baker, an 11-year-old Grade 6 student at the school, joined the staff band Woodcrest Wildthings on the maracas and afterward said Music Monday is a way to showcase the abundance of musical abilities that can be found at the school.
“Some people have talent on the basketball court and swimming and stuff,” she said. “This is a celebration for everybody. I have a talent of different things too. I’m athletic, but I think music is good because I think it shows my (other) talents as well,” she said.
Jacqui Soulias is the music teacher at Woodcrest, and said Music Monday is a way to show the importance of music in all walks of life.
She led the school choir in a pair of songs, and said it’s good to see the music program alive and well at Woodcrest and other schools throughout Thunder Bay.
“A lot times funding cuts impedes us and we’re just really happy they’ve hired music teachers and that music is important enough to have in the schools,” Soulias said.
“They’ve proven in research that (music) helps develop the brain, especially in the area of math and science. People who study a musical instrument, those parts of the brains are further developed and kids seem to be able to learn more easily.”
Watching students burst into dance made it all worthwhile, she added.
“Even though it was chaotic, the kids were having a great time, they didn’t get too out of control. We just had a few fall off the conga line. But I think they love it and when they get to grades 7 and 8, maybe they’ll play a musical instrument.”
Principal and drummer Deanna Hannaford, who joined her former Grade 8 teacher Glenn Jennings on stage with the Woodcrest Wildthings, said that music should have a prominent place in students’ lives.
It’s something they’ve worked on for the past five years.
“We not only want to foster the love of reading and soccer and basketball, but we also want to foster the love of the arts,” Hannaford said.
“And we’ve been open for five years now, with Jacqui and Glenn, and I think when we get together and play like this, music and choir, that radiates and vibrates throughout the school.”
Music Monday was started in 2005 by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada.
