MUSIC TEACHER AND KINDERGARTEN–YEAR 2 PASTORAL COORDINATOR
My parents, aunties, uncles and great grandfather were all teachers, so I guess you could say teaching is in my blood. Apart from my dream job of being a Playschool presenter, being a teacher is really the only thing I’ve ever wanted to be!
There are so many elements to the job that I love. I consider myself very fortunate to be a part of a Kindergarten–Year 12 Department, which means I have opportunities to work with girls from all year groups. I really enjoy watching the girls’ musical development as they move through the year levels – it gives me immense satisfaction and pride to see girls who were introduced to formal music learning with me in Kindergarten go on to perform with our Symphony Orchestra or Chorale. While I enjoy working with the older girls, I have to say my secret love is crawling around on the floor with the Kindy students pretending to be a lion or a dinosaur! There is a very pure joy that young children experience when engaged in musical activities, and it’s totally infectious.
My big focus recently has been to encourage girls to create their own music – to have the confidence, supported by the necessary skills, to let their creative spirit take flight. I have been working with a Year 4 student who presented me the lyrics of a song she had written. I was so inspired by her, that I decided to challenge myself to create a piano backing and second vocal line for the song so I could introduce it to the Year 4 Choir. The girls have all loved learning to sing Sophie’s song and I think many of them will be more confident about tackling song writing themselves in the future.