Mondays are musical at Donegal Primary School. That's when Matt Wheeler, known to students as "Mr. Matt," presents a video series, focusing on music. The singer-songwriter has been offering "Music Mondays With Mr. Matt" since March, and he'll wrap up the series - which features a shorter "Mr. Matt Moment" every other Monday - with a concert at the school on Wednesday, June 1.
This is the second year Wheeler has worked with students at the school. Last year, he presented a series of videos encouraging students to learn the art of songwriting, and then he joined students virtually in their classrooms to listen to their creations. This year, he focused on social-emotional learning, specifically relationships and gratitude, and the vocabulary associated with that topic.
"I've found that, besides being fun and the source of a lot of joy, music is a very good way to help us remember things that are important," Wheeler told the students in one of the videos. Over the course of "Music Mondays With Mr. Matt," Wheeler wrote two songs - "To Be Friends" and "Grateful." He spoke to the students about his songwriting process; played his ukulele, guitar and other instruments; and emphasized that songwriting is a hard but rewarding task. Along with learning through the videos and applying the lessons in class, the students will get to take home instruments at the end of the program.
Teacher Kim Garner proposed the idea of working with Wheeler last year, after the school received a grant from the Donegal Foundation. Music teacher Taylor Morgan coordinated the project with Wheeler, and the response from everyone involved last year was overwhelmingly positive.
"The teachers were really happy with everything," Morgan said. "It added so much fun to the school year."
Wheeler said although most of last year's program was completed virtually due to pandemic restrictions, he was able to visit the school once, and when he did, he felt like a celebrity. "It was like Steve from 'Blue's Clues' showed up in person," he recalled with a laugh. "The kids were so excited. One of them said, 'You're taller than you look in the videos,' which I thought was funny, because I'm sitting down in the videos."
Wheeler and Donegal Primary School hope to continue the artist residency next year, and Wheeler would like to create a three-year rotation of programs. "With three grades at the school, each class will get to see something new," he said.
Garner said the students have learned so much from Wheeler's videos, including the hard work that goes into making music. "The kids have really made a connection with him," she said.
Even though the official goal of the residency might be to increase the students' knowledge of music, Wheeler noted that it's had another effect. "There has been so much joy in this project," he stated. "It's really evident how much joy came out of this for everyone involved."
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