Music Newsletter December 2025 

Term 4 has been an exciting term for music at Greenvale Secondary College.  

On the 31st of October, all schools celebrated World Teachers’ Day. To mark the event, the college hosted a whole-school assembly that morning where there were two performances by the five-piece staff band formed during August for the Performing Arts Gala. They performed ‘Flowers’ by Mily Cyrus and again performed ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse. Students were very excited to see their teachers performing live for them and gave many generous compliments throughout the day. 

On the 28th of November, music students gave a private lunchtime performance to each other and to close friends. Performances included Merve Sumbul singing ‘Ready or Not’ by Cascada, Ece Dinek, Ammara Mughal, Issac Halabi and Arda Bozdas performing ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy, and Eric Papazoglou and Mia Abela performing ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath. It was a great opportunity for music students to build their confidence in performing to a smaller audience and it was wonderful to see the support of their friends who attended as audience. 

Recently, the college hosted its annual Awards Night on the 4th of December at Town Hall Broadmeadows, one of the biggest events of the entire year. Several music students volunteered to perform solo and in small groups in the foyer as parents and guests arrived at the venue, setting a very welcoming, lively and festive tone for the evening. Performances included Isaac Halabi and Eric Papazoglou performing ‘Riptide’ on saxophone and electric guitar, and Christopher Phillips and Jordan Stenhouse performing ‘Love Me Do’ by the Beatles on French horn and electric guitar. During the event itself, two groups gave highly passionate performances on stage which the audience loved. Eric Papazoglou and Mia Abela performed ‘Paranoid’, and Leyla Saylik, Kaan Bircan, Keola Kang, Azelya Cayir and Sinem Gungor performed ‘Creep’ by Radiohead. Congratulations to all music students whose talents contributed to a highly successful Awards Night! 

Very recently on the 9th of December, the college hosted Orientation Day, where next year’s new Year 7 students were welcomed to the college. During the lunch break, several instrumental music students generously offered their time and performed for the new students. Eric and Mia again performed ‘Paranoid’ on electric guitar and bass guitar with great energy, and Merve Sumbul beautifully performed ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ on the violin. Several of the new students walked over to the Performing Arts building and enjoyed the live music, some dancing along with their friends. Some students were curious about trying out instruments next year or signing up for lessons on a particular instrument.  

In Year 7 classroom music, students learnt about the keyboard, understanding the layout of black and white keys and recognising what notes these represent. After learning how to play basic note patterns and chords, first with separate hands, then both hands together, students learnt to play songs in groups at varying levels of difficulty. These songs could either be played by the right hand only, or with the left hand as well to add chords. Students selected one song and performed it with their group for their CAT. Alongside this, students also learnt to read and write melodic notation in both treble clef and bass clefs so that they could notate the melody they performed. Some also learnt how to write notation for chords played by the left hand. 

In Year 10 classroom music, students learnt about various structures used in classical music styles through listening response activities and detailed analysis. These structures included Binary form, Ternary form, Theme and Variations, Minuet and Trio and Sonata form. Students learnt how to achieve contrasts of mood between different sections of a piece by manipulating the elements of music, and about common key modulations in both major and minor keys. In groups, students spent the term composing their own classical movement according to a chosen structural form, playing on instruments or creating their music using digital programs such as MuseScore. Groups then presented their completed compositions for their CAT. 

Year 10 Music students also completed their first ever Music exam in the final week of November. This was a challenging task, as they had to sit an 80-minute written exam which covered content both from this term’s classical unit and last term’s pop song unit. Congratulations to all students for completing your exams and Year 10!