Singing is amazing. At Gracefield School we do a lot of singing. We sing in class, at assembly, in choir, and some people take part in singing lessons with our private tutor, Alex.
Why is singing important?
Singing is important because it helps you strengthen your knowledge of words and it helps with memory skills. If you write songs, it helps you with being creative.
All cultures have their own music and songs, and sharing our culture makes us feel proud. Mr Edmonds, our principal, says that you don’t need an instrument to sing, you already have one and it is your voice.
Singing in classes
On Fridays we do singing with the Middle Syndicate and teachers. Sometimes we do it with other classes too. The other syndicates do singing too, and the senior and middle syndicates take part in Kapa Haka.
In Room 1 and 2, they are extra lucky because they get to do even more singing with Mr Edmonds every Friday. Sometimes he gets the Year 1 children to sing in assembly by themselves. It is amazing and very cute.
Assembly singing
In assembly, if it’s a long assembly, we sing songs. One that we are learning at the moment is Aroha. Another song we sing is our Gracefield School song. We have steps for success songs too. Our favourite song to sing in assembly is Āku Tūrangawaewae (Our place to stand).
Choir
For choir, Mr E does choir lessons for whoever wants to take part. Last year we did a performance of singing and dancing for our whanau. One of the songs we sung was ‘You got a friend in me.’ We had to learn the songs off by heart. It was kind of tricky but we all got there in the end.
Singing lessons
During the term, children who are interesting in singing are chosen to go to singing lessons with Alex every Monday. There is a small cost involved. Several of us are privileged to take part in this and we love to sing with our tutor Alex. She loves to sing because it lets her express herself and her emotions.
Alex really enjoys working with children, particularly when they are able to do something they used to find tricky. She also thinks singing helps us to be creative, confident and to express our emotions in a healthy way.
We love to sing because it is our passion. It is creative, helps us develop our talents and it is what we love to do.
Our tutor Alex!
