Year 9 Pastoral Guardian

The Power of Music

It is three weeks out to Cultural Festival, one of the most highly anticipated events on the Mount Alvernia calendar.  Each House has devoted many hours planning, organising, and now practising their performances that they will present to the College on Cultural day, Thursday 19 September.  While I observe the girls practising it never ceases to amaze me the power of music and the positive impact it has on people.  Music unites, empowers, and ignites passion.

While Cultural Festival may only be one day on the Mount Alvernia calendar we should, as parents, guardians, and teachers, embrace the power of music in our everyday lives and use it as a vehicle to connect with teenagers.  Maggie Dent, a well-known author, educator, and parenting and resilience specialist, published an article earlier this year: Does your child have music hiding in their soul?  It focused on children of all ages, including adolescents, and how incorporating music into our everyday lives opens hearts, soothes stressed minds, and can so simply yet powerfully transform the minds and bodies of our teenagers.  Maggie also states that, "the research is very strong about the importance of music on the developing brain and in the development of health self-regulation".  

Everyone has music in their souls and, while we live busy lives, it is one thing we can easily turn to, to evoke positive emotions within us, to build healthy neural pathways to connect us with others, and to bring out joy in our days.

I will leave you with these two ideas:

1. Play upbeat music in the morning and observe the positive impact it has on your daughter while she gets ready for school.
2. Play upbeat or calming music just before your daughter starts studying in the evening or on the weekend and observe the power and grace of music has on your daughter’s mood.

Tamara Richardson

Conversation Starters

What song is your house using for Cultural Festival?

Can you show me some moves of your dance?

What song should we play this morning while we get ready?

What is a funny story from camp?