This year in our Junior School music classes, we have had to reimagine and reinvent our program to provide creative and engaging lessons. Where our classrooms and halls were once filled with singing and band sounds, we instead heard the banging of drums, shakers, Boomwhackers, cups and sticks. In Grades 5 and 6, students learned new skills by playing xylophones, bucket drumming and mastering rhythm. Primary students traded creative and expressive movement for body percussion videos and dancing in a ‘bubble spot’. All Junior School students embarked on a new journey of using digital tools to explore and create music through programs such as MusicFirst, Soundtrap, and Flat. Due to COVID restrictions we had to suspend choir and basic singing in the classroom, opting for singing to take place as homework assignments, or during remote learning. Grade 3’s were able to continue the tradition of learning basic recorder skills at home, and used FlipGrid to record their own progress. Kindergarten classes moved and played along to videos and songs, learned about instruments, completed crafts and composed rhythm patterns with icons. While this year certainly was different and not without challenges and obstacles, everyone was resilient and music making remained alive at The Country Day School. 
 
In the absence of live in-person performances, we have opted to put together exciting, grade specific videos to highlight some of the music activities that were being done at school, and at home. We long for the day when we can, once again, take the stage in the Paul C. Duckett Theatre and fill our audiences with joy, hope and the love of music. We thank you for all of your patience, support and appreciation of our music program, and we hope these videos will bring your family a spark of happiness as we head off for the summer. 
 
Enjoy, stay safe, and let the music play…

WATCH THE JS MUSIC SHOWCASE FULL SHOW

WATCH THE JS MUSIC GRADE-SPECIFIC PERFORMANCES