Classroom music
Music is a vital part of a child’s development and education. At Eatons Hill State School, Classroom Music is provided for all students through weekly half hour lessons with a specialist music teacher. These weekly lessons are part of a seven year sequential and developmental program that feeds into secondary school.
Our goal is to promote a love of music in our student body and to provide opportunities for all students to enhance their musicianship skills and develop excellence through reading, composing, responding, listening, playing instruments, singing, improvising and performing.
Extension opportunities for students include School Choirs, the Instrumental Music Program and Uke Club.
Instrumental music program
Eatons Hill State School has an active and growing Instrumental Music Program. This is an elective program. We offer small group lessons during school time on the following instruments: flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, French horn, euphonium, tuba, percussion, violin, viola, cello and double bass. Students may learn strings from Year 3 and woodwind, percussion and brass from Year 5.
In many cases, parents may need to purchase or hire an instrument for their child, although the school does own some instruments and is continuing to purchase more. Parents need to cover the costs of books and instrument accessories (such as neck straps, valve oil and rosin) as needed. Parents will be asked to pay an annual music charge to help support their child’s participation in the instrumental program. A hire charge for beginning students is included in the payment. Students are encouraged to purchase their own instrument (in most cases) after the first year.
Not all instruments are offered each year, depending on availability of school/owned instruments and the need to form balanced performing groups. The number of children accepted into the program each year depends on the amount of instrumental music teacher time allocated to the school as well as the number of instrumental music students graduating from the school. Children not selected for the program will be placed on a waiting list and may be offered a place if another child is unable to continue lessons.
All students who receive instrumental music lessons at school are required to commit to play in a band or orchestra. This may require out of school hours attendance at fetes, concerts and music camps and other special performances. These groups rehearse before or after school or during lunch hours.