PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Arts video highlights innovative teaching
During our period of remote learning, Mr Ben Mattick, the Preparatory School’s Visual Art Teacher, wrote, performed and
recorded a great song for our students about the seven elements of art. The song was a huge hit with our students and
families and highlighted the innovative ways our teachers worked with our students during remote learning.
You can view Ben’s video on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/hM02naeb1T8.
We found out more about Mr Mattick and asked for some tips on creating a cool song!
Where did you work before coming to
Guildford Grammar School?
I worked at a small school in Earlwood,
Sydney, called Undercliffe Public School.
What attracted you to the school?
Before my interview I came to see the
school. Who would not be impressed with
the amazing setting and landscape that
surrounds this school? I had also heard great
things about the school and liked the ethos
and approach that the school promoted.
What are the personal values that drive
you?
I am always trying to achieve the best I can
and try to be a good person. These are the
main things I ask of my students.
What do you like most about your job?
I love creating art and I really enjoy working
with creative and innovative young people.
The students create some exceptional art
and the art room is always full of fun,
excitement and creativity.
What examples of resilience have you
seen over the past few months in staff
or students?
If there is one thing that every person
has either needed or developed more
of in the last few months, it is definitely
resilience. The people I have worked with
during this tough period, both staff and
students, have all demonstrated amazing
resilience. Everyone has their days of being
overwhelmed by difficult situations or times,
but for the most part what I have witnessed
is a collective strength of optimism, hope
and “let’s get through this”.
Where did you come up with the ideas
for your great art song/video?
The ideas in the song all came pretty easily
as it was all factual and it was actually quite
fun to make! The main reason I made the
song and video is because the topic itself,
when taught face to face, can be quite
dry, and engaging students can be a little
challenging. The home learning platform
lent itself to this type of medium. From
my experience as a classroom teacher and
reading a lot of educational resources, songs
are a great tool for helping students to
remember content.
What are your future plans and
ambitions?
My overarching ambition is to develop the
art room into a self-propelling machine of
creativity that is student-centred and run, so
that I am here to provide help and guidance
when needed and called upon. I do find it
hard to step back sometimes though, and
do fear the chaos that could eventuate, so
it’s a work in progress!
Can you give us five tips for writing a
cool song?
1. Have a clear idea about what you are
going to write about before you write
the song. For ‘Elements of art’ the lyrics
were easy as the content was already
there.
2. Heaps of brainstorming. Don’t worry
about putting it all together until you
have lots of content and ideas.
3. Catchy chorus! Start with the chorus
first.
4. At least two verses if you have enough
lyrics or content.
5. For the majority of the song, stick to the
topic with little off tangents here and
there if you want to, and never rhyme a
word with the same word!
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