T Instrumental Music School Services . 150 Guildford Road, . MAYLANDS WA 6051 . Public education: A world of opportunities. http://det.wa.edu.au/imss . USIC Vol. 5 May 2020 ATTERS A newsletter for music students and parents, brought to you by the Instrumental Music School Services, Department of Education. A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL Mr Bruce Herriman The beginning of 2020 began with great promise and excitement for our public school instrumental music service. We have been able to finally have Year 5 beginners across all of our schools and worked with three new high schools to provide instrumental music lessons. We started the year with some 17,000 students accessing our service and an ever-expanding ensemble program. All schools were working on mid-year concert programs and we had started work on our showcase event the OPUS concert which was to be held at the Perth Concert Hall on 29 June 2020. Oh how things have changed! By the end of Term 1 ensembles were disbanded and teaching came to a halt two weeks before the end of Term. Fortunately, beginner classes managed to get under way and beginners at least had a few weeks of lessons, usually enough to provide them with a start and make some progress without a face to face lesson. Instrumental teachers have worked hard over the last two weeks of Term 1 to provide students with lesson materials, programs and various online teaching options so that students can continue to make progress on their instruments without the weekly lessons. Classroom teachers have also supported the instrumental teachers ensuring that networks are set up to provide students with the necessary means of communicating with the instrumental teachers with online teaching. While most of the instrumental teaching will begin in the first few weeks of Term 2, it is unlikely that ensembles will be back to normal. Perhaps there will be different ways of setting up ensembles, with small group rehearsals or team teaching with support from classroom teachers to ensure appropriate physical distance has been put in place in rehearsal spaces. School concerts have been cancelled and all of the Festivals that normally run in Term 3 have been cancelled. This is obviously very disappointing for everyone as these events provide wonderful experiences for our students and a great chance to showcase the rich musical experiences available in our public school system. However, there have been some significant positives – teachers and students have found a variety of ways to engage with technology, upskilled in online teaching platforms, recorded videos and accessed a whole range of resources that were unlikely to have been uncovered if not for Covid-19. Instrumental teachers are extremely dedicated and committed professionals who are determined to provide the best possible teaching and learning experiences for all public school students. In this most crazy time of Covid-19 I trust that all instrumental/vocal students and their families will stay well and that the making of music will provide hope and joy in the remainder of 2020. CONTENTS From the Deputy Principal IMSS Alumnus: Jonty Coy FEATURE: IMSS Online Distance Education Instrument Feature: The Clarinet Community Health: Support for Children Fact Sheet: Music… Social Behaviours Wellbeing: Mental Health Music Learning from Home: Brain Benefits Useful Online Links Community Health: Covid-19 – Help Stop the Spread IMSS / SSTUWA 2019 Prizes Words of Inspiration FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Mr Marcus Perrozzi Thank you very much to the Music Matters team (Ms Jacqui Edwick, Ms Alexandra Bak, Mrs Victoria O’Neill, Mr Bruce Herriman and Mr Kevin Fraser), the IMSS School Plan Consultation Team and to IMSS colleagues and the community for your contributions to this edition. Your efforts are greatly appreciated! To access previous editions of Music Matters, and other information about how instrumental music is delivered in public schools, please go to: http://det.wa.edu.au/imss/detcms/navigation/for-parents/ FROM THE DEPUTY: IMSS COVID-19 UPDATE Mr Kevin Fraser Term 1 2020 has certainly been an interesting journey! We send thanks to you, our IMSS families with students in our program and our wonderful teachers for the professional and flexible approach that they have taken during these testing times! There have been a number of challenges and we will continue to work through these issues. I also wish to send thanks to those schools, families and teachers with whom I have already had conversations. Your open communication and willingness to work to meet the ever-moving guidelines in creative ways to empower students to continue and in some ways, enhance their learning, is refreshing! In general, the IMSS staff and especially the Senior Leadership Group’s solution-based approach has been just the tonic that has been needed! We will need another dose of this as we progress through Term 2! Our Covid-19 Circulars have been enacted to advise teachers of the latest developments in this realm. The following is some of the progression of information that was developed as a result of information sent from the Department of Education. The information was designed to support the work of IMSS teaching staff in conjunction with schools at this difficult time. Our purpose is to allow everyone to understand the expectations and separately, the opportunities presented to us during the time of these unusual events! Teachers, schools and communities have had their own challenges and solutions. We ask teachers to ensure that they communicate and work with schools on these solutions. It is important that we all support each other to empower students to participate and engage while enjoying music. That is the best possible outcome. The Teaching & Learning Program and related information that we as a school have provided for IMSS teachers is below: 1. Week 9 – school is operating however there may be very few students. IMSS Teachers might begin to deliver curriculum in a variety of ways during this time. The minimum expectations for the remainder of this term and Term 2 are presented below. 2. Week 10 – Planning week for staff. Teachers can develop larger opportunities for alternate curriculum delivery to students in Term 2. The opportunities are outlined below. 3. Term 2 – Schools are open. Education programs will continue, however, they will look different. This is where IMSS Teachers get a chance to explore the opportunities for innovative ways to deliver our instrumental music service to students. See notes below. It is pivotal that we consider the students and families in these difficult times. It is vital that we provide opportunities for students and families to enjoy music making and to be engaged in such a wonderful MUSIC MATTERS May 2020 2 recreational pursuit at this time. This is much more important than results and assessments and this should be our central focus during this time. Reasonable and Sustainable Expectations for IMSS teachers • A guide/program for Week 10 and the holidays will have been sent to students/families. • One communication event using up to date contact details (Connect/Email/Text/Phone) with each class (students/families). • Check Department email accounts for communications regarding most recent updates. Other Opportunities (optional) For teachers who would like to explore other opportunities, here are the Department approved platforms for online communication with students: • Connect & One Drive • Emailing using Department of Education account to student’s Department of Education accounts • Webex and ‘Microsoft Teams’ (access through Ikon) • School specific programs such as Compass, Seqta and Seesaw etc. Video samples from students We have created some guidelines to protect students and teachers when students upload video work samples. Please make sure your students understand the guidelines. Using Online Video Platforms (OVP’s) to record video samples (optional) For teachers who would like to explore the use of OVP’s as a teaching resource, please adhere to the guidelines. IMSS Teachers must check with individual schools for guidelines on their communication platforms. Communicating with Parents & Students While the expectation is weekly communication with parents/students, please do not “over- communicate” with families. Please ensure that you ask students to check in on a regular basis (at least once every two weeks). In a situation where you have not received acknowledgment and contact from a particular student/family please advise the school contact. School contacts may be aware of individual circumstances in each family and there may be a valid reason a parent/student is not regularly communicating with IMSS Teachers. Teaching & Learning Planning for Term 2 Schools will be open in Term 2 for students that need to attend. IMSS Teachers may be expected and required to work on a school site as per scheduled timetable. For some teachers this may not be practical. IMSS Teachers will need to work with each individual school in regard to their requirements. We are aware there is a level of flexibility required for IMSS teacher’s individual circumstances. The situation is constantly changing so please keep checking email regularly as updates come through. Thank-you, one and all for your contributions and work! - Kevin Fraser, Deputy Principal, IMSS. IMSS Staff Covid-19 Home Schooling Online Studio Set-ups MUSIC MATTERS May 2020 3 FEATURE: IMSS ONLINE DISTANCE EDUCATION You Teach Where Today?! Ms Emily Ruddock IMSS teachers are located all around Western Australia and we certainly cover a lot of kilometres to deliver instrumental lessons to students across the state. But sometimes travelling to our students isn’t practical and that’s where distance education steps in. Many of you may be much more familiar with online meeting platforms now than perhaps you were at the start of 2020, and as you may have discovered, they certainly have their pluses and minuses.