If you were to peek into the music room at Norwood during the school day, you would see 25+ children singing, dancing, playing, and laughing their way into music literacy. Norwood School's music program focuses on singing as the primary instrument for music education, since it is the instrument that is freely given to all students and is unique to them. This approach, rooted in Hungarian music educator Zoltán Kodály's philosophy, is incredibly empowering for students of all ages. Students at Norwood in K-6 have a dedicated music class three times a week, and Norwood's commitment to a quality music education for every student truly shows. In June 2018, the choir sang at the invitation-only Alberta Provincial Music Festival at McDougall Church in Edmonton. This was the Norwood School choir's twelfth year representing Norwood (and the Wetaskiwin Music Festival, where the choir received first place in its category).
The 2018-2019 school year marks the first year of ukulele at Norwood School! Parent Council recently gifted the music department 30 ukuleles, and students in grades 4-6 have been enjoying applying their knowledge of musical literacy to the (very) colourful instruments.
Norwood School presents two large-scale concerts each year, one in December and one in the Spring. Concerts link to classroom learning in content, supporting literacy and numeracy, with a specific focus on culturally relevant repertoire and pedagogies. Students sing in many different languages, exploring the music from not only cultures around the world, but particularly the ones represented within the student body at Norwood. In the remainder of the 2018-2019 school year, we look forward to a collaboration with Augustana's SingAble choir under the direction of Dr. Ardelle Ries; our Spring concert presentation; the Wetaskiwin Music Festival; and hope for the chance to once again represent Norwood, WRPS, and Wetaskiwin in Edmonton at the 2019 Alberta Provincial Music Festival.
-- Ms. S. Olson
