Forward July 2020 | Page 35

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! 35