Schools Programmes

“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.”
― Plato

DRUMBEAT

DRUMBEAT is an evidence-based social and emotional learning program, incorporating hand-drumming, which focuses on social connection through teamwork, and is proven to build resilience.

Many schools will know the DRUMBEAT program, and may even have staff trained in delivering DRUMBEAT 10 week programs.

At Sustaining Rhythms, we can offer DRUMBEAT programs to schools that do not have trained facilitators on staff. We also offer Mentoring and co-facilitation to new DRUMBEAT trained facilitators, and can provide drums and percussion for all our sessions.

Bullying Awareness and Prevention

We offer an eight week Bullying Awareness and Prevention Program, based on the very successful Rhythm2Recovery model that uses drum and percussion musical activities to shine a light on peer interaction in a fun and empowering way.

Even if your school does not have a bullying problem, this program raises awareness of different bullying situations, and how we can avoid being drawn into them.

Students can play feelings on their drum with less judgement and self-consciousness, and use rhythm to role play the pattern behavior of bullying, in a safe, non-confrontational manner.

Each week presents a key learning area:

What is bullying, what forms can it take?
Peer Pressure & Power Dynamics
The Bystander
Healthy Relationships
Tolerance & Empathy
Communication
Self-esteem & Self-assertiveness
Resilience & Responsibility

Weeks 9 and 10 can be used to prepare a performance to showcase the student’s learnings for their classmates, or at school assemblies.

Click here to download Bullying Awareness and Prevention Flyer PDF.

Drum Club

A weekly series of one hour sessions after school, or at lunchtime, running for an entire term. Requires a minimum of ten students to enroll before the first session, and parents will be invoiced in advanced for the ten session term (so there is no impact to the School budget).

These sessions are self selecting, meaning that individual students decide whether they want to participate, and are not selected based on their musical aptitude. Drum Club is inclusive and open to anyone from year 3 upwards, regardless of musical ability.

Drum Club sessions are comprised of rhythm games (to teach fundamentals and techniques, or just for fun), set African cultural rhythms, and crafting in-the-moment rhythms.

Optionally, the children may also choreograph a presentation for a school assembly, parents day functions or end of year celebration.

Click here to download Drum Club Flyer PDF.

Click here to download our After School Drum Club and Classroom Incursions introductory letter.

Vacation Drum Club

We can also run Drum Clubs during vacation weeks, as individual sessions, with less emphasis on learning cultural rhythms, and more rhythms games and in-the-moment rhythms.

Classroom Incursions

For younger classes (pre-K to year 2) we borrow Expressive Rhythm Stories from Paul John Dear at Rhythm Bridge in Scotland, to engage a younger audience in a captivating process, incorporating rhythmic expression and musicality, in an unfolding journey through stories.

For older children (years 3+) we use rhythm games to build foundational skills, chants and call and response to lead them into simple rhythm play, and guide them to create their own in-the-moment rhythms. We can teach basic African cultural rhythms and chants, giving cultural background to the origin and use of the rhythms. We also offer the opportunity to learn basic facilitation skills of listening, leading and following, and turn taking.

Drum Circles for Community Building

For whole school celebrations, school fetes, school camps etc. These are facilitated in-the-moment music making events that require no prior drumming or musical ability, are great for engaging parents and children alike, and will knit your group into an entrained and connected ensemble. A great community builder. We can provide drums and percussion for over 100 people.

Drum Maintenance and Repairs

We also offer a Schools Drum Maintenance Service for schools who have purchased their own drums (for the DRUMBEAT program, for example).

Click here to download our School Drum maintenance Flyer PDF.