The Shamong Foundation for Educational Excellence funds major projects, and also enables teachers to undertake a number of innovative classroom projects at all grade levels by awarding numerous small classroom grants.
This year, the foundation approved more than $80,000 for projects in both Indian Mills School and Indian Mills Middle School.
One of the projects awarded this year was for Susan Styers’ music technology class.
“This year, the general music classes will get to explore the possibilities of music technology with the recent grant funded by the Shamong Foundation for Educational Excellence. A classroom set of 20 iPads and software were funded for use with the middle school students,” Styers said.
“Currently, the eighth graders are using the ‘Garage Band’ app to sequence and record their own tracks and songs. As the students begin to navigate the possibilities of creating, recording, looping and layering, they are making music in a way that wasn’t possible before in music class. This unit of study allows the students to preview what the music technology course at Seneca High School offers and perhaps sparks a career interest in music recording or sound engineering.
“It’s a wonderful way to engage non-performing musicians, those not in choirs or band, to be creative and expressive with music. The hope is to be able transfer the students’ songs to iTunes or CD, so they can share their music with their family and peers.”
