Sathya Sai Primary School, Parents and Friends

Parents and Friends

Parents, Friends and the school community

Parents and Friends are a vital part of the energy created at our school with no school fees. The following are accounts of a submission to the ABC Flame Awards made by the P&F and part of a report from the parent representative representing the whole school, attending the NSW AIS Values Forum in Sydney, as a result of the work done during 2006.

With only the recorder and the power of song Sathya Sai Primary school does what many schools struggle to do with much more. It kindles in its students a love of music as well as an understanding of its beauty and the joy it can bring.

An independent school only 10 years old and of less than 100 students SSPS is a small school with a big point of difference. At the Sathya Sai Primary School, the Board of Studies Curriculum is taught through a values framework, known as Education in Human Values (EHV), infusing the school and the children with the five values of peace, love, truth, non-violence and right conduct.

With no school fees and a philosophy that discourages fundraising SSPS is funded and supported by the Sai and local communities as well as by the dedicated and supportive parent base. Group singing/ music is not just a curriculum area at SSPS but one of the 7 teaching strategies that we utilise in the teaching of Education in Human Values (EHV). The principal and staff at SSPS recognise that music and group singing impacts on many levels and has many benefits for teaching. The desired outcome of this strategy is to infuse students with inspiration and engage all of each persons multiple intelligences, cognize all cortical areas of the brain, restore balance, harmony and health and develop a spirit of unity and teamwork.

At Sathya Sai Primary School, music is used as a vehicle for expressing joy and love. It is part of the process in which students are encouraged to bring out the "virtues in me" one of the songs often sung by the children. Music is used to both teach and reinforce the human values in a way the kids can understand and then the value of love, lived as service, is displayed when the children use their music to bring joy to the community.

Chris Jenkins is the teacher who runs the musical program at SSPS. With recorder teacher Jenny Hibbard and a team of parents and friends, they are preparing the new recorder ensemble for The Festival of Performing Arts and interschool and visits with Murwillumbah high School. There are also some after hours guitar lessons and a fledgling choir led by two dedicated parents.

Our school Vision is to be a model school in human values education.

Our Mission is human excellence.

Our Values are Love, Truth, Right conduct, Peace and Non-violence. We are a non-denominational spiritual school inspired by the spirit of the values that unite every faith and philosophy.

Some of the values that bring alive the five human values in action are inclusiveness, innovation and impactfulness.

INCLUSIVENESS

All students are provided with a recorder in their resource pack and during the year all students from year one to six are taught to play the recorder with the guiding ear and watchful eye of specialist recorder teacher Jenny Hibbard.

Rotation of staff around classes is now starting to introduce all classes to specialist music lessons. Two of our dedicated parents have begun working with the children in a choir.

Every morning following silent sitting all students, staff and often some parents collectively sing a weekly values song. This is sung with real joy by the children and the power of the words, really resonate. "Reach for the stars, climb every mountain higher....." "We're talking about a treasure that's free, the virtues in me."

The words of the songs are published in the weekly newsletter so the students can enjoy singing at home and share the values songs with their families.

Group singing and music has been used since ancient times to celebrate joyous occasions, and in this vein all student and staff birthdays are celebrated with the whole school joining in singing the traditional song while teacher Chris Jenkins accompanies on the ukelele.

The Sathya Sai School Choir, lead by parents Loren and Elenor, is certainly having a wonderful effect in the lives of the children. During rehearsals the choir are learning to sing a diverse range of songs with enrichment in music development and skills. Teachers and other onlookers often comment on the beautiful sound that is heard coming from the group. Music and singing has become an integral part of the school program, which I believe will also strengthen the children's educational, physical and emotional development.

IMPACT

Despite the humble nature of our music programme, which is just being ignited and kindled it is beautiful to see how music permeates through the day, and is embraced with such love by the students. The recorder rates high amongst soccer, skipping ropes and handball as a popular choice for playtimes and before school.

The first impressions on walking through the front gate during any time when students are not in class is a treat. Wafting from all corners of the playground is the gentle sound of recorders being played by students playing for the sheer enjoyment of it. As music is one of our seven teaching techniques, it permeates the whole school's curriculum through each of the 6 Key Learning Areas.

Every student is part of an end of year celebration that encourages music-making throughout the entire school curriculum and engages community involvement and skill. This year we are basing it on the four school curriculum themes of 'Who am I', 'Me and My World', 'Healthy Choices' and 'Creating My World'. We are calling it 'I am…' and it is exciting and energizing all staff, students, parents and community as we co-create it together.

INNOVATION

The way music is taught and how it is woven through our whole school philosophy of EHV makes our school music programme different. Our innovative curriculum is based on the mainstream NSW Board of Studies syllabus emerging from our universal values.

We are just now professionalising our strategic plans to deepen musical impact and enrich music-making in quality and student and parent commitment.

A performance-based approach to music! As we have no music teacher, our school has chosen to use a performance-based approach to music-making built around a combination of teachers skills and abilities. This has ignited the creativity of our approach and the ember has developed into a flame from the raw truth of each individual's conscience.

The school's philosophy states that pure potential lies in every human being. The genius of music-making at our school flows from this knowing. Each child has the perfect musician within. It is the purpose of our philosophy to elicit what is already there and to bring it out through teacher-parent-community modelling, a love of music, self-discipline and practice. Love infuses the whole school community as one.

School Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8.30 am-4:15 pm
Address: 9 Nullum St Murwillumbah NSW 2484
Postal Address: P.O. Box 705 Murwillumbah NSW 2484
Phone: 02 6672 8972 Fax: 02 6672 8922