Hundreds of students celebrate Music Monday

The sound of music filled several communities across Simcoe County, where hundreds of students marked Music Monday.

Music Monday was established in 2004 by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada and is observed annually on the first Monday of May; and aims to draw attention to the pursuit of fair and high-quality music education in Canadian schools.

Roughly 500 students participated in Music Monday from grades 1 to 12 from nine schools within Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB).

"Today is a perfect example of how music affects children. You can see how excited they are and how motivated they are and how they have that sense of well-being and enjoyment," said Bonnie Black, SCDSB arts facilitator.

Music teachers at the event said there are many benefits for students involved in music.

"Teaching little ones is joyful and involves a lot of moving and a lot of percussion and a lot of singing. They can do anything. If you set the bar high enough, they can reach it. Music increases literacy scores, it increases math scores, it just makes for such good learning for the kids," said Heather Cavill, music teacher at Worsley Elementary School in Wasaga Beach.

St. Noel Chabanal Catholic School in Wasaga Beach also participated in Music Monday.

"Music helps with mental health. There's all kinds of therapies that music is responsible for. Music is vital to our curriculum and the learning of the students, more so than anyone realizes how important it is for our learning, and we just want everybody to appreciate that and have access to it," said Romney Getty, St. Noel Chabanal Catholic School music and art teacher.

Students have been preparing for this day for several months, and the teachers involved said they are already looking forward to next year's event with hopes of involving more students.