Musical Futures Professional Learning Day

Musical Futures Professional Learning Day-Friday 20th May

Lalor North Secondary College hosted a state-wide professional learning day on Friday 20th May. Organised by ‘Musical Futures Australia’ for about 30 music teachers, the day focussed on new ‘Play Now’ workshops designed to get students playing instruments and songs immediately and collaboratively. Lalor North have had a long history of hosting music educators and implementing this ‘hands-on’ music program at Years 7-10. Click on the video below to watch music educators in action.

At the senior school, Lalor North runs the VET/VCE music performance program every Wednesday and this program is also open to host students from other schools in the area as part of the Northern Melbourne VET Cluster. Our school is one of only 2 schools in the Northern Region that offers this senior music performance program.

MUSICAL FUTURES LEARNING AT LALOR NORTH COLLEGE

Lalor North College Music staff (Dino Azzollini, Lou Rossini, Mia Sifonios, Phil Smardenkas, John Smardenkas) delivered the UK based ‘Musical Futures’ Program of informal music learning in a formal school setting (Lalor North has been designated champion school status).

‘Musical Futures’ is based on the belief that music learning is most effective when young people pick their own songs and are engaged in making music, and when their existing passion for music is acknowledged, reflected on and built-upon in and out of the classroom. This approach to teaching and learning music, as musicians in the real world do, underpins the 7-10 classroom and the senior VCE VET Music program and students learn their instrumental skills by playing songs they choose or compose and performing and recording regularly. This approach allows music students at Lalor North to experience success and confidence at their point of need.

As part of the Musical Futures program we also run ‘hands on’ performance and recording workshops with students from local primary schools who then perform live with Lalor North students at the annual Big Night out concert in October.