Young designers at St Margaret's CofE Primary School in Whalley Range help to spread the Power of Music
Creativity was in full flow at St Margaret's Primary School as pupils took part in an exciting Design a Mug competition to help promote the life-changing power of music for people living with dementia.
The competition received an incredible response, with children producing a fantastic range of colourful, imaginative designs and thoughtful and impactful slogans. Every entry showed enthusiasm, creativity and a real understanding of the important message behind the project.
Slogans included:
Turn up the Jazz! Turn up the Groove!; Music is Everything; A Song a Day Can Change your Day, Even When I Forget Your Name; Music is a Healing Power; Music is Home-Made; Music Brings Back the Moment; Music is a magnet that finds the broken parts and fixes them.
As part of the visit, pupils also learned about the Music for Dementia campaign and how music can make a huge difference to the lives of older people living with dementia. We explored how a favourite song can unlock memories, lift someone's mood, reduce anxiety and help people reconnect with family and friends. The children were fascinated to discover just how powerful music can be, even when memories begin to fade, and how the brain works like a team, with many different areas joining in together when we hear music.
After the difficult task of judging so many wonderful entries, congratulations go to Zahra and Hajar from Class 4NA, whose outstanding mug designs were chosen as the winners, with runners-up Abdullah from 4RB and Shila from 5FI.
Their colourful artwork will now be professionally printed onto mugs that will be given to carers who use music in their everyday care, as part of a nationwide Music for Dementia campaign, helping to spread awareness of the incredible impact music can have on people living with dementia.
Miss Bulman, head of Music, said: ‘I was so pleased to see how many children took part in this competition, which reflected our school values of compassion and creativity. Music is something we are really passionate about in this school and we look forward to seeing the designs printed on mugs to be shared around the country. Thank you to Lizzie and the team at Music for Dementia for giving our wonderful children this opportunity.’
A huge thank you goes to every pupil who took part. The standard of entries was exceptionally high, making the judging extremely challenging. The creativity, kindness and thoughtfulness shown by the children were truly inspiring, and everyone should be proud of the part they have played in helping to share such an important message.
Well done to Zahra, Hajar and all the pupils who took part in making this a memorable and meaningful project!