“It’s Worked and it’s Been Joyful” – Elementary Music Success at Eason

Jennifer Senne admits there were some nerves leading up to the start of school.

“As an elementary music teacher not being able to sing is probably one of the scariest things,” says Senne.

But the elementary music teacher at Eason Elementary says those fears about teaching music are long gone.

“It’s worked and it’s been joyful. That’s the most important thing, it’s been a lot of joy,” says Senne.

It didn’t take long to realize this was still going to be a magical year of music.

“The first day, my first class was 3rd grade and it was just wonderful to be with all of those children and to play and make music together,” says Senne. “They needed that joy in their lives and I needed them.  I knew after the first five minutes on that first day, this was going to work.”

It gets better. Senne also teaches online music and there are amazing stories to share.

“One of the great things about being online, we could all sing. We all sang together and the first song we sang together was My Country Tis of Thee,” says Senne. “It was beautiful. The kids were full of smiles, I felt that, even through a computer screen.”

Senne gives a lot of credit to her fellow music teachers across the district. 

“We are constantly sharing ideas, the email trails we have full of ideas, the folders we have in our Google Drive, the texts that we share,” says Senne. “Just helping each other out, it has been tremendous and I couldn’t have done that without them.”

In fact one of Jennifer’s favorite moments from the year comes from a great brainstorming session.

“We came up with a plan to teach a lot about culture. We used this time to learn about Hispanic Heritage Month, we talked about Black History Month. One we recently did was Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colours.”

What once was a cause for concern has really turned into something special, even if the music doesn’t always happen in the classroom.

“I hear from parents that they are singing at home,” says Senne. “Even though we aren’t able to do it here together, they are singing at home and sharing songs with friends and family, so that’s pretty awesome.”