ŻMICHOWSKA SINGS
If I were asked about the project closest to my heart, which was co-created from scratch with my students, I would undoubtedly say - Żmichowska Sings! It is a project that not only developed me as a teacher, but above all - as a human being!
--- HOW IT STARTED? ---
I am a teacher with an artistic flair. I have always believed that art should appear in the education process of EVERY young person. Thanks to this, young people learn to listen and activate sensitivity to the beauty of the world.
It all started in 2013, when one of my students brilliantly performed "Padam, padam" by Edith Piaf. This performance touched me so much that I wished to share these musical talents of my students with the whole school community.
After talking to the School Principal, I immediately started to act. By design, the idea was very simple. Pick out musically talented students, record them in a professional studio and put together a CD of their songs. These CDs were later gifted to teachers and parents. We obtained financial support from Parent Contributions.
And that's it! In 2022, we've finished 7th edition of this program, and the sheer scale of this project has exceeded my wildest expectations!
--- HOW IT WORKS? ---
The project is carried out professionally from the scratch in order to provide the Children with the best experience. All stages of publishing the album are co-created by me and the Youth.
Each stage begins with song preparation and casting. As I teach in a bilingual school, the album includes songs in many languages.
We also implement the graphic design of the project ourselves, each of the covers was developed by artistically talented students from our school
It all sounds so serious, but we're actually having a lot of fun doing it! And the effects are amazing!
Żmichowska Sings gives a real opportunity to develop vocal skills both for those students who are already singing and for those who are just starting this path with us. Together, we created a singing family, a community that supports and motivates each other.
--- WHERE TO HEAR US? ---
Since 2013, we have have performed at over 100 concerts at school festivals, conferences and galas both in Poland and abroad. We participated in such events as: The Teacher of the Year Gala, the PASE European Language Congress, the BAS Gala at the Royal Castle in Warsaw,
the 3rd International Congress of Children's Rights, and the 8th International Korczak Conference at the POLIN Museum.
We also performed at many teacher conferences, such as "Lepsza Edukacja" in Września, "Szkoła z EduMocą", "Digitalnie i Analogowo", "Inspiracje" and IATEFL.
We performed regularly during school celebrations and in Warsaw music centers, such as Nowy Świat Muzyki.
We are not slowing down ven during the COVID-19 pandemic! Over the past year, we have organized many online concerts. You can read more about it here..
--- UNESCO ---
I never work for awards. That's what I also teach my students. But there are some recognitions that just make me happy for having met so many talented young people. One such honor was presenting Żmichowska Śpiewa as one of the 10 projects at the UNESCO conference on cultural education on September 16/17, 2016. Żmichowska became the first school in Poland to be associated with UNESCO. Thanks to this collaboration, the school later hosted a delegation from Japan. It was a huge event with an international reach! You can read more about this event tutaj!
--- YOUTH SUCCESSES ---
Żmichowska Sings is repeatedly invited to national and international conferences in Poland and abroad. We also participated in many interviews in Polish radio stations, e.g. Radio Dla Ciebie.
The project has gained a national reputation. It was successfully copied in 17 schools across the country, which spread the idea of supporting musically talented Youth all over Poland. During these 8 years of activity at concerts and galas, the project has met over 30,000 recipients. Not to mention that the entire school has adopted a framework for teaching foreign languages, grammar and vocabulary through the use of song lyrics.
However, for me, the fact that many participants of the project release their own albums, start solo careers or vocal studies, brings me the greatest joy!
