May 1, 2009
DSBN Students Join National Chorus for Music Monday
On Monday, May 4, students across the District School Board of Niagara will come together to demonstrate their love of music and the impact it has on their education at the annual Music Monday concert.
Music Monday began as an initiative of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada to celebrate the importance of music in our lives and our schools. Last year, more than 700,000 students across Canada joined voices to perform the same piece of music on the same day. This year, students will perform Canadian recording artist Serena Ryder’s song “Sing Sing”.
Taking place at Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, this year’s concert includes elementary students from Virgil, Pelham Centre, John Marshall and Richmond Street Public Schools. Secondary students from Governor Simcoe, Grimsby Secondary, A.N. Myer and West Park will also lend their voices to Monday’s melody. Each school will perform individually before coming together for a combined performance of “Give us Hope”, and “Sing Sing”.
“Music education has a tremendous impact on students,” explains Gerda Klassen, DSBN Arts Consultant. “There are numerous studies that show that students involved in music programs are better in languages, learn to read more easily, are stronger in numeracy, and develop strong independent thinking skills. They also tend to show a high level of enjoyment in school. Beyond that, music education encourages, teaches and supports creativity in our students.”
Tickets for the event are $5.00 and can be purchased at the door. All proceeds from Monday’s concert will support the efforts of the Education Foundation of Niagara (EFN). The EFN supports many important initiatives, such as breakfast programs, that take place in DSBN schools.
“This is a wonderful example of students coming together to support students in Niagara,” says Klassen.