"Whaowhia te kete mātauranga." (Fill your basket of knowledge.)
Whakataukī
"Singing in schools dramatically improves self-esteem, helps children to be more calm and focused, and increases engagement in class."
Research and Evidence in Education
"By participating in the arts, students’ personal well-being is enhanced,” "engaging... imagination, senses and feelings." NZ Ministry of Education
We hope you will enjoy exploring these resources complied by Helen Acheson, NZCF's late, much-loved Children's Outreach Coordinator.
Let's Get Singing!
Singing is such a great way to improve the wellbeing of your students. It promotes hauora, creativity, learning and self-confidence.
Group singing can help you to include - or to include more- tikanga Māori and reo organically throughout the day. It is also a way to acknowledge and engage meaningfully with the wide range of cultures and heritages, through the languages and songs of our diverse ākonga. The great thing is, singing is free and every child has a voice!
If you work in a primary or intermediate school or kura, and would like help getting your students singing, NZCF would love to help!
SINGING WORKSHOPS
Song leaders to help you kickstart singing!
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Singing for teachers with teachers to enhance your own musicianship and wellbeing
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Classroom, assembly, or co-curricular singing - whatever you would like help with developing in your school - even if you aren’t a confident singer yourself.
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Resources and songs for different year groups, including waiata Māori.
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Ideas for using singing for routines, to reinforce learning, and for fun!
Recent workshops:
Waihi (Paeroa) 13th June
Linton Camp (Palmerston North) 21st June
Term 3 teacher workshops:
Dunedin 27th July
Term 4 teacher workshops:
Auckland 3rd November
Rotorua 13th November
Wellington 4th November
Christchurch 8th November
If you would like us to run a free singing workshop in your school to get your students enthused, and as professional development for staff (online if needed), please get in touch.
MENTORING
Free one-on-one mentoring
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More in-depth than a workshop, our mentoring for teachers is aimed at schools and kura who do not have a music specialist.
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We have trained and experienced song leaders who can work with you to kickstart a singing programme.
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Mentoring will be tailored to the needs of your school, and can combine online coaching and in-person sessions.
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Mentoring will include resources and suggestions for ongoing professional development.
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Fully online options will be available for rural schools, or as needed.
Places for mentoring are limited.
Please get in touch to register your interest.
RESOURCES
Please explore our resources tiles below
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NZCF will be creating resources for schools over our Singing for Lifelong Wellbeing project including learning videos, lesson plans, and ideas for incorporating singing into the classroom for wellbeing.
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We will also be adding free/freely available musical content throughout the project.
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See Resources for Teachers for links to MENZA, Kiwileles and other NZ music organisations, and professional development.
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If there are particular resources that would be helpful for your school, let us know.
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We would love to hear from you if you have songs, warmups or activities for classroom singing or choirs that you can recommend for NZ teachers.
For further information please get in touch.

Articles for singers
Our programme “Singing for Lifelong Wellbeing” is funded through a grant from Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage, and runs until June 2024