| And the band plays on... |
| By Raymond Bowe |
| Enterprise-Bulletin (Tue, January 9, 2000) |
| Many local residents hope that when Admiral Collingwood school
relocates to a new facility, it maintains the excellence of its
instrumental music program. |
| Students at the school realize they are being given a
special opportunity no other schools in town offer. |
| "It gives us a chance to play different instruments
before we hit high school," said Nina Lex, a Grade 8 student at
Admiral. |
| "one of my friends said she is envious (of us) because
she really wants to play an instrument," said Myranda Heipel, also in
Grade 8. |
| Ekkehard Irion, a local music supporter, has written
letters to the Simcoe County board of education voicing his hopes that the
program continues: |
| "I think our board of education has to get away from
the idea that school music is on the way out because there are not enough
music teachers," Irion wrote. "Admiral Collingwood
furnishes proof that the sound of music will spring forth where halls to
hallow music are built. |
| "I know several teachers... who could teach music if
it was valued, encouraged, given time and allotted the necessary physical
space," he said. "Conversely, the predicted death of music
will occur if schools with facilities like Admirals' are closed." |
| And over the years, Admiral has provided results. Three
years ago, the Admiral school band achieved a gold placing in the regional
Music fest, and silver in the nationals held in Vancouver. |
| "Not all schools have instrumental music in this area,"
said Jocelyne Salter, who's been the music teacher at Admiral for six
years. She said the school has the Optimist Club to thank for
donating the instruments. Students are also given the opportunity to
rent the instruments over the summer to practice. |
| "They (Admiral students) started by using the
Collingwood band's instruments, and the kids are pretty aware of it,"
said Salter of the generous donation. |
| Instruments available to Admiral students include brass, woodwinds,
and drums, but no strings. "None of the fancy ones, but we do
have a French horn," said Lex enthusiastically. |
| "Some of the instruments that are used are up to 40
years old - the newest are about five years old," said Salter.
"When they get to be about 15 years old, it becomes really expensive
to repair them," she added. |
| The trustees at the board see no reason why the program and
tradition should not continue. |
| "We have no reason to believe (moving the program to
the new school) won't happen," said Joan Fullerton, superintendent of
schools for the Simcoe County Board of Education. |
| "I would hope the program would continue on,"
said Anson MacKeracher, in Grade 8 at Admiral. |
| "Everybody should get a chance to play an
instrument," said Grade 8 student Andrew Steele. |
| The students also appreciate their teacher and her dedication. |
| "Mrs. Salter does a really great job in teaching and
giving up her own free time," said Lex. |
| "There are lots of after-school opportunities for
us," added Steele, such as extra help, and practicing for various
competitions like Musicfest. |
| "You need a teacher that has the qualifications,"
said Salter. "Without that, this type of program is impossible
to run." |
|
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