St Mary’s College, located in the heart of the city, has been educating young women from Reception to Year 12 for over 155 years. There has always been a strong focus on the performing arts since the Dominican Sisters from Dublin, Ireland founded the school. In the Dominican tradition, the arts give us a window into beauty, joy, and wonder.

Empowering young minds through the power of music.

This year, all students in Years 2 to 4 have been immersed in a new 12-month program that allows them to experience the joy of learning an instrument. This fully funded Junior School immersion involves a regular curriculum music lesson, an ensemble lesson and a small group instrumental lesson with one of our music tutors. This immersion allows students to learn a string, woodwind or brass instrument such as the violin, flute or trombone.

We know from research that learning music supports language acquisition, memory, attention span, numeracy, reading, working memory and auditory processing. Beyond that, it builds a community as children enjoy learning the importance of listening to one another to create something that works. And it is fun!

Music is integral to all cultures. It draws people together and celebrates humanity in its rich diversity, and can transport us emotionally, even when shared by new learners. At our recent parent information night, our music tutors introduced parents to instrument care and set-up. Our students had the chance to show their parents what they had learnt and then gave them a lesson of their own. There was a spirit of fun and playfulness on the night as families learned together, and you could feel the students’ pride as they showed what they’d been doing. The evening was wrapped up with a short and entertaining performance from each ensemble.

Having a team of experts, all musicians and senior years teachers, working alongside professional tutors brings an exceptional quality to the program. Seeing some of our youngest students coming to and from school toting a violin, cello, trombone, saxophone or flute has generated a buzz in the community.

Even at this early stage, there is positive feedback and much to celebrate around our Junior School music immersion.

To find out more about our Junior School Music Immersion Program, visit stmarys.sa.edu.au