July 23, 2024 -- Fifth-grade student Peyton Gales dreams of making R&B and rap music when she grows up.
Thanks to Columbus City Schools Summer Experience, she took a big step towards her dream. This summer, along with her classmates at Champion Middle School, she learned about music composition, recorded a song, and created a music video.
“I really enjoyed being surrounded by people who supported me and [had fun] making a song about being unique,” Gales said.
During their Summer Experience, Champion Middle School students focused on performing arts in collaboration with We Amplify Voices (WAV), a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing underrepresented groups to the creative process.
WAV facilitators discussed different types of music and issues relevant to their lives which inspired the students to create songs. Each grade focused on a unique theme: fifth graders on individuality, sixth graders on resilience, seventh graders on seeking a positive place, and eighth graders on creating an oasis.
Students recorded their songs at WAV’s studio and filmed music videos at Champion Middle School. These were premiered school-wide on July 12.
Sixth-grade teacher Evelyn Cado-Curtiss was thrilled to see the students grow in confidence and teamwork. She especially enjoyed watching her students’ music video premiere as their faces beamed with pride.
“It was absolutely amazing to watch the kids open up and be themselves,” Cado-Curtiss said. “It was very refreshing as a teacher.”
Helen Tewolde, WAV’s director of youth programs, noted the students’ engagement and vulnerability throughout the three-week process. For her and the WAV staff, the partnership proved fulfilling.
“Our mission at WAV is healing people and creative expression,” she said. “If we healed two students, we have won. And if they have found an outlet to be themselves, we have won.”
