A Vernon elementary school will be playing musical notes on new instruments.
Lisa Quiring’s Grade 6/7 class from BX Elementary has been named one of the 10 winners of the CBC Music and MusiCounts Learn Canadian Music Playlist Challenge nationwide contest, resulting in $1,000 in new musical instruments and equipment from MusiCounts.
“This year, COVID-19 has prompted conversations across the country about the role of music in the school curriculum,” said the challenge in announcing the winners. “We are so impressed by the imagination and creativity that many music teachers displayed in trying to get music integrated into school programs.”
Quiring and BX music teacher Alison Norris entered the project with Quiring’s class.
“We are a Grade 6/7 class of music-loving students in Vernon, B.C. We have chosen the theme ‘Music is Timeless,'” wrote the teachers. “Music often reminds us of different times and events in our lives. The music of today will become the nostalgia of tomorrow as we look back at historic events of 2020.
“All of the songs we have chosen relate to time – past, present, and future – and represent the broad musical tastes and cultural backgrounds of our students.”
A photo of the class’ playlist can be found at the bottom of the page.
Norris said the class was so excited to have been chosen a winner.
“As you may know, BX is under construction this year, so half of this project was completed outside at the picnic tables, with iPads in hand, while we waited for construction to be finished on our new music classroom,” said Norris.
“I am so proud of the whole class. They definitely have a wide array of musical tastes, and we encourage that. In music class, we often study an “artist of the month,” allowing us to expand our musical exposure.”
CBC Music and MusiCounts Learn were pleased to come together to create a Canadian music learning resource for schools that could not allow in-person music-making.
Thousands of students from classes across Canada participated in the Canadian Music Playlist Challenge this year, and it was a resounding success.
“The project culminated in a series of activities that teachers could use to build their classes’ custom Canadian music playlist,” said CBC. “The playlist is a reflection of the unique character of a school, region and students’ interests.”
Norris was grateful to the CBC for providing a playlist opportunity this year, as with the restraints of COVID, the class was not permitted to do a song submission as the school did in the 2019 contest.
“This class was dedicated and thorough with their playlist selections, theme, and video submission,” said Norris. “In January, we plan to celebrate our achievements together – I’ve promised them a pizza/dance party – as we listen to our playlist.
Check out all of the submitted playlists here.
NOTE: This story was updated Sunday, Dec. 27, at 2 p.m. to include comments from Alison Norris
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BX Elementary School’s Grade 6/7 class taught by Lisa Quiring and music teacher Alison Norris submitted their Music is Timeless choices to CBC Music’s Canadian Music Playlist Challenge, and were one of 10 nationwide winners. (cbc.ca photo)
