The music classroom is the place where we practice so many character strengths alongside learning musical skills. In all year groups, learners have been working on cooperation, confidence and communication skills as they get back into performing music after a long hiatus without live performances. We have had a number of courageous and talented students perform at our Friday Lunchtime Concerts and these will continue fortnightly for the rest of the year, providing lots of opportunities for Junior School students to share their musical talents. Thank you to Yi Chen, Ayra, Jillian, Frankie, Lexie, Isis, Chelsea, Isabel, Ru Qian and Riko for performing this term.

Year 4 and 5 have commenced their strings programme and are showing their resilience as they navigate the challenges of learning an instrument. To maximise progress, we are encouraging the learners to do very short, regular practise. Five minutes a day will make a huge difference to the pace of their progress.

Year 3 are learning the recorder and are doing very well at remembering to place their left hand at the top of the instrument when they play and to control their breath to blow gently. Recorder has excellent transferable skills to every other wind instrument and it will be wonderful to witness our learner’s interest in orchestral instruments in the next few years.

Year 2 have been using xylophones to learn about melody and pitch. They are gaining confidence with the patterning of the notes and can play in time with a backing track.

Year 1 have enjoyed playing popular songs with boomwhackers (pitched sound tubes) and this highly physical way of performing music has incorporated the movement skills that young learners are naturally adept at.

Our youngest learners are developing musical skills by singing, dancing and playing percussion instruments and have already developed quite a repertoire of songs that they enjoy performing. Singing supports language acquisition and we have been working hard on articulation in speech and singing. Through singing stories and nursery rhymes, learners are sequencing, learning melodic patterns and experimenting with how to use their developing singing voices.

Our Music Academy programme is up and running with face to face lessons for a number of instruments and voice. If any Junior School students would like to start learning an instrument with a specialist tutor, please contact Mr Ervin for more information. ervinrezzan@aism.edu.my

We look forward to showcasing some of our music learning with you during the end of term assembly next week which will be recorded and released to families on Friday.