By Bill Carter and Bridget Johnsen | Project Leaders
Thanks so much to our faithful supporters .... we could NOT have survived the past few months without you. Who could ever have imagined that our world would change so much between reports? We have "bitten the bullet" and reverted to the drawing board to re-chart our path for the year ahead. Schools have closed and re-opened, but choirs are unlikely to be permitted until the end of the year. So far, South Africa appears to have flattened the curve sufficiently to enable our medical facilities to cope, but we still haven't reached our COVID peak.
Fortunately before lockdown, we were able to continue our March SCHOOL PRINCIPALS WORKSHOP with Andrew Stead from The Foundation of School Leadership and Management. Principals and heads of department from 3 Isiphethu Sothukela schools attended, together with Bill Carter on behalf of Champagne Valley Trust. The costs of the training were kindly shared by the Michaelhouse Community Partnership, who held an equivalent session on the previous day for 23 Midlands principals. Thank you to Trafalgar Property Management for sponsoring all the printed materials. Dates for the remainder of this years Principal Workshops are 10 July, 2 October and 27 November.
Blessed with the time to reflect, think, plan, write.... our project facilitator Judith Hawthorn has documented an outline of the syllabus in 16 lessons for Grade 3, and then also for Grade 4-7 . She has captured the essential steps for any school choir to prepare for particpation in a Music Festival and for the annual Siyacula Concert, as well as for the ABRSM Choral Examinations. Sadly, it seems that none of these events will take place this year.
Last year, the ABRSM representative for KZN, Bridget Harrison, expressed the hope that the Legacy Project would be replicated throughout South Africa. We have accordingly set our sights on this vision. The plethora of virtual learning platforms prompted our engagement with EDGE Education to digitise the syllabus. We have also submitted a funding proposal to National Arts and Culture with a view to rolling out this project in more schools from 2022. Senior Master of Culture at Michaelhouse has expressed his willingness to assist in the Midlands, and our own Judith Hawthorn (now located in the Hilton area) will look to commence the project around Pietermaritzburg, KZN. We would love any and all contributions to these efforts..... volunteers, assistance with logistics, catering at workshops or festivals, and direct donations all welcomed with open arms.
Deep appreciation again from the Champagne Valley Trust, PSI Projects, principals, conductors and choristers for your time, generosity and interest in this very rewarding project... truly changing schools and the lives of so many children!!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
