SiFly #SEND, DJing, health and education

Cura-Care Music Sensory group

“I love bringing him here, it gives him time away from me (mum) and gives him space to be himself.”

So nice to hear one of the mums appreciating the work of Paige and Rachel who share in our passion for supporting young people.

It was encouraging to hear from the ladies that there have been some positive leaps forward today.

Massive thanks to Well Doncaster for supporting us over the last few months and allowing us to work with so many different groups.

The highlight of my day today was just after the photo above, this young fella began to get creative and when he started to do some thing above and beyond, he turned to me and said “high five”

I gave him some skin and we carried on.

Thanks to everyone who who joined us today.

Upcoming sessions this week are.

Woodlands Library from 2.45 Monday, mixed age Askern Shakers from 7.00pm 11 to 16 Monday, Adwick Primary After School Club closed session, Tuesday Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.45pm Tuesday 7 to 11 Highfields Boxing Club from 4.45pm on Wednesday mixed age.

Free to join us. See you then

SiFly health and education

The ME-Project

A quick selfie!!

I have always been reluctant to share the awesome!!! work of The ME – Project. I have been working with them over the past couple of years with their Artfully Adapting programme.

It is a targeted programme which practically highlights artistic activities to support specific areas of young people’s lives. I always commend the participants for just turning up. The difficult part of the work for us, is sharing with the public just how much fun it is, while respecting confidentiality of the attendees.

When parents say to their kids “hey go down and try it” it must fill them with dread as they don’t know what they are walking into. I think everyone who joins is pleasantly surprised. The facilities are awesome and I always look forward to returning for a chocolate cookie, they always get the really nice ones.

Kat, Paige and the team are like a family. I think what has made it work so well is that they do it like us, they carry the deep knowledge and experience, which they keep inside like a book on a shelf, while being more focused in the moment of having fun and engaging.

So far every participant has enjoyed it, we have had a lot of fun, and at one point last night we had a 5 minute laughing fit with tears rolling down cheeks as I looked back and shared one of my stories from my school days.

The latest 6 week programme to support 12 to 16 year olds may still have a place left as I write this, check below for details.

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Machines: Better or Worse?

For us technology has enabled us to do what we love every day. Supporting young people with their development while working creatively with music.

But has the development of technology made things worse? Do we have shorter attention spans? Are we becoming more anxious? Is anybody truly bored anymore?

Our philosophy in 90 Minute Music comes from researching how humans utilise technology and exploring how we can add value in terms of sociability and building resilience.

There is often a perceived conflict between us and technology especially when it goes wrong.

When technology fails

In our experience some young people are more likely to be enthusiastic about engaging with technology than each other.

We use this to our advantage by using the technology to focus on the things that technology has begun to erode. We share our knowledge of music, production and the world of DJing to identify how we can synergise groups of individuals by learning about their primary needs.

We have supported thousands of young people with their development by identifying areas of support and quickly putting that support in place through our training and expertise.

Although our aims are to support health and development, the nature of our work is having fun and sharing each others qualities.

I didn’t like 90 Minute Music, I loved it.

C. B. Age 10 Doncaster

We will be at Myplace Bentley from 6.00pm on Wednesday 8th of June.

Norbreck Communal Hall Askern from 5.00pm on Thursday 9th of June.

Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 7.15pm on Thursday the 9th of June.

Follow us on Facebook to find out when and where you can access free sessions for young people.

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Leaving, Breathing, and Roads to Achieving.

Our last week of delivery in Highfields this week. We have learnt about Djing, Production and have discussed many issues Including Identity, Diversity, Home and Family, War, Friendship and of course Sport. Many came from Outlying villages to join us as many do to receive the top class Boxing training and experience of John and Liz Loosemore. The young people have been wide ranging in age, but the culture of respect and communication added value to all. I can’t wait to come back and work with you again, it has been a pleasure.

Great Characters who provided plenty of laughs and support.

We began our long anticipated work in Askern this week. Norbreck Communal Hall is the venue and we’ll be there every Thursday from 5.00pm till 6.30pm. We had good attendance, but we still have capacity for more to join. We worked on aspects of communication and I spoke about how breathing can be useful when playing together in a group. The young people spoke about how music may fit in with tribal culture, which is the basis of all our cultural past. Well done to everyone from 17 all the way down to the youngest, who showed that music is valuable, as a mechanism of bringing us together. There is much more to it of course and I look forward to sharing it with you in the coming weeks.

Pleased to play a small part in the growing number of activities in Askern

Our 2nd new venue this week was Bullcroft Memorial Hall where we will be at 7.15pm every Thursday. We had a small group attending, but they had to leave early as they were aged 11 and an 8.45pm finish is late. There may be an idea of splitting into an older and younger group, we will see who joins us next week and decide. We have had further interest over the last few days, it would be great to see you join us next Thursday.

Industry Standard Equipment isn’t always available to young people.

I met a group of older lads who were passing outside, some were into Djing and knew one of the local MC’s I have been working with, so I told them to check the website because even though they were 17 and older than our usual participants I would not want them to miss the opportunities that we can offer through employment opportunities and further training through our partner organisations like Higher Rhythm.

Thanks to John and Liz at Highfields. Isiasha at Norbreck and Tracy at Bullcroft for Kindly proving the venues.

Massive thanks to Well Doncaster and DMBC for providing funding and sharing support through Doncaster Chamber and the Community Wealth Builder.

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Exploring Diversity and Music from around the World

Pictured above is The War Memorial to the men and women of Highfields, it is a poignant feature as you enter the village.

A lasting impression was made on me after a school trip visiting the vast war cemeteries in Normandy, my view on remembrance is simple. We should remember, and understand that war is what happens when communication and respect are devalued.

The first things we learn in 90 Minute Music are the dynamic value and values of communication and respect.

This week we looked at music from around the world, acknowledging our own cultural heritage and spoke about how language and music are learnt together.

We got our hands on a Mbira and Djemba from Africa. A Tabla from India and explored the musical elements that reflect the cultures.

We also used this Guiro (vase) I found at our local charity shop for a pound, so keep your eyes open for a bargain. Thanks to everyone for attending on a wet, cold miserable night

These young people are a credit to their families and are showing the confidence and skills which will transfer to their daily lives to support health, resilience and opportunities for progression.

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A Dynamic Contrast

HIGHFIELDS BOXING CLUB : A busy day of delivery yesterday, building numbers in the group at Highfields with some new additions. Everything we do is focused on using music as a tool for development with communication and discipline at the core. Thanks to everyone who shared on social media and the parents for travelling from outlying villages.

ME PROJECT : We began our long anticipated work with ME PROJECT last night. Our usual all action hands on session was sprinkled with open group conversation as we explored how music can be used as a tool to reduce anxiety and cope with the increasing pressures of adolescence. Big thanks to all who attended and the staff for joining in and supporting. The due diligence and meeting of professional guidelines for developing this kind of workshop is massive. Utmost respect to Kath and Paige for getting to where they are.

ATLAS PRIMARY : We were back in the centre of Town for this one. Bringing together young people from different cultures and backgrounds. The starting point for this one was chaotic and challenging for every one of us. Our training in recognising SLD’s was helpful as we steered the group into respect, communication and genuine dynamism. We do this work because we know it can be challenging, but we also trust in our understanding and experience to bring out the best in everyone and the young people grew into it with gusto and enthusiasm. Thanks again to the staff for their support.

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Highfields Boxing Club

Exploring what we have around us and visualising what may come in the future, recognising family, pets and pastimes as inspiration and support.

We put pen to paper to creatively explore rhythms and the building blocks of Music. The group responded well to more use of the technology this week.

Sometimes my role in 90minutemusic stems from the youth work which started the journey 9 years ago. Back then some of the kids just needed another adult around as a role model, and sometimes to remind them what is good in their lives. I think we did a little of this tonight.

Thanks again to Liz for the venue, the Parents for travelling from outlying villages, and of course the young people themselves, fantastically creative!!!

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A Touch of Class

It was a great experience to work with the pupils of Windhill Mexborough just before Christmas. Fantastic engagement and a warm welcome from the staff made it a rewarding day for all.

We were blessed to be joined by professional photographer Gavin Joynt. In recent sessions I have asked parents to help me out with taking some pictures and to be fair they haven’t done a bad job, but in my experience getting a professional in can really make a difference. Rather than go on about how much of a nice bloke he was and how he anticipated the shots without getting in the way, I’ll just show a few of his pics to give you an idea.

You can find out more about Gavin and his great work at: http://www.gavinjoynt.co.uk/

Credit to Lindsy at Active Fusion who hired Gavin who was friendly, professional and kept up the positive energy in the room which is vital for us.

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#dnshowcase2022

We recently attended a celebration of Doncaster Businesses. We were lucky enough to meet David Shaul, Jordan Goldsworthy and Robert Campbell from That Agency Co. They are a Creative Media company based in the Frenchgate Centre.

They created a vlog of the whole event here. https://youtu.be/jJiLt2-OihI

Great to talk to guest speaker Rik Courtney from Be More Social, who have given us business support through the CWB, along with many other wonderfully passionate and creative people. Credit to Doncaster Chamber for organising.

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Astrea Atlas Academy

Energetic Intensive Effort

We were Invited to work with Astrea Academies after meeting Fran Lightfoot at a Community Wealth Builder networking event.

We identified a need to engage with pupils who needed further support. Fran linked us up with Head Jonathan Moody and we decided to focus on pupils with Additional Needs and Specific Learning Difficulties.

Great enthusiasm, whole heartedly connecting with the technology yesterday. We worked on composing, choosing appropriate sounds and learning how to chop beats while keeping good time.

Thanks to Isla Foundation for not only funding, but also for having the patience to stay with us through the difficult times we have faced. The credit also goes to the Barrier Buster fund, for agreeing a match fund to support young people in the most challenging situations. This will give a boost to their confidence, resilience and development.

Atlas is close to Doncaster’s famous St James Street Tower Blocks.

While studying for my degree a good friend lived on the very top floor of the block next door to this one, It’s a magnificent view over the Plant Works and out towards Cusworth Hall.

Big thanks to the young people, the Parents for returning the consent forms, Grace and Jonathan for inviting us and Neil the caretaker for supporting.