A song that a class of grade eight students of William C. Winegard Public School wrote for Diversity Day at their school was so touching, it is now recorded to share with the community of Guelph.
Students in class 8B took the initiative to create a song for Diversity Day, an annual tradition at their school which was held on Feb. 5 and includes celebrations of food, culture and life experiences around the world as well as conversations about talk self-identity, connections, and global understanding.
But in the middle of creating the song, Bill Winegard, the namesake of William C. Winegard Public School, passed away and as a tribute to him, the students extended their song to incorporate lyrics about him and his relationship with the school.
Winegard was a frequent visitor to the school. The students knew him well and were very fond of him.
The school says he was known to demonstrate the qualities of kindness, generosity and citizenship that the school says lives on in their community.
On Diversity Day, The Diversity Song was performed during a full school celebration of life assembly dedicated to Winegard.
The students also performed the song on April 6 during a tribute service for Winegard at War Memorial Hall.
“The message of the song is beautiful and the words about Dr. Winegard are incredibly special,” said principal Curt McQueen in a press release.
Due to the incredibly positive response, McQueen wanted to share the song with the community and asked Jim Duffield, director of Royal City Studios to assist in recording the song.
“It’s a vivid example of what kids can do if you simply give them the opportunity. The song needed to be recorded and passed along to the community,” said McQueen.
Duffield donated his time, space and services to work together with the students to create the song.
In two sessions, the students recorded instrumental tracks and vocals and completed the song in just a week.
Needless to say, the teacher of the students was extremely proud of their work and initiative.
“Aside from a few musically trained students, this group stepped out of their comfort zone, demonstrated amazing creativity and worked hard to ‘become’ singers. I am so happy they had the chance to complete this journey with a recording experience,” said teacher Theresa Barbour.
The Diversity Song which expresses unity and celebrates individuality can be heard here.