Celebrating Music in Manitoba Schools

Music Month: Celebrating Music in Manitoba Schools—April 2008 ( 934 KB)

Viva la musica! Celebrating Music In Education

Music surrounds our daily activities from infancy to adulthood, and contributes to our lives on personal, social, and creative levels. While music is an important part of the Manitoba school curriculum throughout the year, its role in education will be highlighted in April 2008 through school and community events that celebrate the skills and accomplishments of young musicians throughout the province.

This booklet, produced by Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, suggests a variety of activities and events in which schools and communities can participate in April 2008, which has been designated as Music Month in Manitoba. Schools are encouraged to celebrate music in ways such as the following:

Share the skills and accomplishments of young musicians in school and community performances.
Promote musical events on the Department’s Online Musical Events Calendar
Highlight music through classroom and school-based learning experiences.
Participate in noon-hour Music Month performances at the Manitoba Legislature.

Manitoba Rocks! Garage Band Project

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth is pleased to support the Manitoba Rocks! Garage Band Project. This project provides mentorship for Middle and Senior Years students in rock bands who write original material. Three bands will work with music industry professionals to polish and arrange lyrics and music, record a professional demo in a studio, learn about the music business, and perform live at The Forks in Winnipeg on Canada Day. The successful applicants have been announced.

Online Musical Events Calendar

Manitoba’s Online Musical Events Calendar provides opportunities to highlight the many musical events occurring across the province, and to share the information with the school community.

If your school is planning a musical event between March 1, 2008, and June 27, 2008, email the information to Debbie Hiebert.

When making submissions for the Online Musical Events Calendar, include the following details:

Title of event
Name of school and school division
Name of musical group/class
Date and time of event
Location of event
Other relevant details

School and Community Performances

Celebrate your school’s musical accomplishments by performing for students, teachers, and parents. Or visit a senior citizens’ home or a shopping mall to share music with the wider community.

Schools that received funding from Music Month Grants will be performing at venues around the province during the month of April 2008. For more information, check the Online Musical Events Calendar.

Exploring Music in the Classroom

Music enriches our daily lives in many ways. Manitoba Music Month provides an ideal opportunity for all teachers to integrate music into day-to-day activities. Many schools organize numerous school-based and classroom-based activities for I Love to Read Month in February – why not organize daily or weekly events that highlight music throughout April? Music educators are encouraged to invite their colleagues to celebrate Music Month in their respective classrooms by collaboratively planning activities that will help students reflect on the role and importance of music in society and in their personal lives.

The learning activities suggested are examples of how classroom teachers can use music for learning with their students at any grade. Share this list at a staff meeting and discuss the many ways in which your school can celebrate music during the month of April. Teachers are encouraged to use this list either as a source of inspiration for ways of integrating music into the curriculum or simply for dedicating some time towards accenting music in their classrooms. Teachers may select and adapt learning activities to suit the interests, needs, and learning styles of their students.

Student Learning Activities ( 182 KB)

Music-Related Classroom Resources

To celebrate Music Month, the Instructional Resources Unit (Library) of Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth has prepared an extensive bibliography of music-related resources for students and teachers. The bibliography includes

children’s picture books that integrate music as a theme
music-themed works of fiction for various ages
works of non-fiction, including biographies of composers, pop musicians, jazz artists, and more
an extensive and varied list of music CDs and cassettes
videos/DVDs reflecting a variety of themes and topics, including First Nations and Métis music and musicians, multicultural music and dance, animated musical stories, dramatizations of composers’ lives, and more

To access the bibliography, visit Celebrating Music: A Selection of Resources in the Instructional Resources Unit.

The resources listed in this bibliography may be borrowed by Manitoba educators who are registered patrons of the Instructional Resources Unit (IRU).

To borrow print resources, contact Reference and Information Services at

1181 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg MB R3G 0T3
Telephone: 204-945-7830
Toll-Free in Manitoba: 1-800-282-8069, extension 7830
Fax: 204-945-8756
Email: iruref@gov.mb.ca

To borrow audio visual resources, contact Media Booking Services at

Telephone: 204-945-7849
Toll-Free in Manitoba: 1-800-282-8069, extension 7849
Email: irucirc@gov.mb.ca

For further information on IRU's resources and services, visit

the Library's online catalogue
the IRU website

Noon-Hour Musical Performances at the Manitoba Legislature

Each Wednesday in April 2008, school groups will perform for staff and visitors in the lobby of the Manitoba Legislature. Music Month performances are scheduled over the noon hour.

Please note the following:

Five groups will perform for 15 minutes within each 75-minute concert.
Groups are required to stay for the duration of the entire concert.
Performances will take place on, or in the area of, the grand staircase at the Manitoba Legislature. Acoustics are “lively.”
The organizers will do their best to accommodate your equipment needs.
All Kindergarten to Grade 12 public, independent, and First Nations schools are eligible to apply.
Space is limited. The organizers cannot guarantee that all applications will be accepted.
Interested participants must complete the Application Form for Music Month Performances at the Manitoba Legislature—April 2008 ( 31 KB)

The deadline for submission of performance applications is February 15, 2008. Accepted applicants will be notified by the end of February.

The completed Application Form should be sent to:

Manitoba Music Education Day
c/o Karin Klassen
6 Apex Street
Winnipeg MB R3R 3A3

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth would like to acknowledge the Manitoba Music Educators’ Association for their assistance with the planning and implementation of the Music Month performances at the Manitoba Legislature.

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