Shirley Boys’ High School Year 13 Students Inspire Primary Schools with Music Tour
On the 26th and 27th of August, seven students from the Year 13 music class at Shirley Boys’ High School – Ngā Tama o Ōruapaeroa embarked on a primary school music tour as part of a new NCEA standard for the Level 3 music class, titled “Plan an Event That Benefits the Community.”
This year a group of 7 students came up with an initiative aimed to connect with the local community by bringing music to primary schools where the students had a personal connection—either as former students or through the school’s Kahui Ako network.
The Year 13 students formed a band specifically for the event and designed workshops that allowed primary school students to experiment with playing various instruments, including guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums. This tour was entirely student-led, with the group responsible for organising every aspect, from planning to execution.
Their primary goal was to enrich the musical experience of younger students, give back to the community, and promote the vibrant music culture at Shirley Boys’ High School – Ngā Tama o Ōruapaeroa. Moreover, they genuinely wanted to ignite a passion for music in the children they visited.
The rock band performed a 30-minute set featuring a mix of rock and indie music, with the primary students encouraged to participate through interactive clapping, call-and-response singing, and other engaging activities. Zac Harris, who led the group as both MC and lead singer, did an outstanding job guiding the young audience.
The other band members included Ronan McKersey on lead guitar, Joel McKay on rhythm guitar, Braithan Bailey on drums, and Oscar Warren on bass. Lincoln Penei managed the sound engineering, while Jasper Warren handled filming and photography and helped out with sound gear.
Each student played a crucial role in the planning stages, gaining valuable experience in event and tour management—an essential aspect of the music industry.
The schools visited during the tour were:
South New Brighton School
Pareawa Banks Avenue School
Queenspark Primary
Linwood Avenue School
Waitakiri Primary
Parkview Primary
The feedback from principals, teachers, and students was overwhelmingly positive. Many expressed a strong desire for this tour to become an annual tradition, highlighting its success in fostering a love for music among the younger students. The Year 13 students not only gave back to the community but also created a lasting legacy with this school tour, setting a new standard for Yr 13 Music class at Shirley Boys’ High School – Ngā Tama o Ōruapaeroa.
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Article below was written by Oscar Mitchell, Year 13
As part of our music assignment, we brainstormed ideas to “Plan an event to benefit the community”. After much discussion, we decided to organise a mini primary school’s tour where we would visit several local primary schools. Our plan included performing live music and doing mini workshops to engage with the students with the goal of “providing children with opportunities to engage in music, sparking a passion that would foster their musical growth”.
As part of the assignment each of us had a different role to play and we had weekly meetings to plan the event. We reached out to South New Brighton, Waitakiri, Pareawa Banks Ave, Linwood Ave, Queenspark, Parkview schools who were all keen and looking forward to our performance. To determine their preferences about our performances we asked schools whether to perform for the entire school or specific groups, depending on venue size and how many students attend the school.
Our performance was a 30-minute set of local indie music, and we asked the schools to select 20 students who we keen for the music workshop. We planned and made a rotating schedule where five students go around and learn either guitar, bass, drums, or keys every five minutes.
After planning our schedule, we packed a van with music equipment and visited every school over the course of two days. The team consisted of performers Zach Harris, Braithan Bailey, Joel McKay, Ronan McKersey, and Oscar Mitchell, with Lincoln Penei and Jasper Warren who were handling sound and photography.
To summarise the experience, it gave us an insight of life for touring bands. It was exhausting but rewarding knowing we gave many students an opportunity to experience live music and play some instruments. During the performances, we quizzed the students on some music knowledge and were surprised to find out how many students had never seen a live band before. The experience was much more satisfying when the students told us afterwards that they were keen on learning instruments and pursuing music.
The feedback from the schools, teachers and students was very positive and each school suggested it could become a yearly event as they found it to be such a rewarding experience.