By Alesha Capone
A music video created by a group of talented staff from Saltwater P-9 College shows that school is beyond cool.
Four members of the Point Cook school’s Performing Arts team – Jay Bowen, Lauren Lourdes, Michael Lapina and Phill Haddad (PHILL HADDAD) – star in the clip, which was posted on the college’s Facebook page last month.
More than 6900 people have viewed the video, which features singing, dancing, drumming, coloured lights, smoke effects and original lyrics.
Mr Lapina said the Saltwater principal, Jackie Daniali, supported children having a well-rounded education, including in the arts, and allowed staff to make creative choices which embraced this.
Ms Lourdes said although the video was “very exciting” with costume and scene changes, its lyrics included the important message of encouraging students to do their schoolwork and home learning tasks, during the pandemic lockdown.
Mr Bowen said that it had been rewarding for him and his colleagues to find out from parents that pupils were watching video multiple times at home, and singing and dancing along.
“We thought the video would be quite popular in the school community, but we didn’t think it would be shared so many times or have the reach it did,” he said.
Mr Haddad said: “The children and our community are going through a very tough time at the moment, and one of the underlying messages we wanted to include is that with arts such as dance, music and drama, we can embrace the comedy and joy people are struggling to find at the moment.”
