Sumas Students Absorbing All Things Music

New Sumas Elementary music teacher Landon Wynne knows his students watch — and re-watch — his recorded music lessons, even when they aren’t assigned to. Frankly, the interest has shocked him, but it has also resonated with the students at Sumas and given his in-person music classes an added kick. 

“I still get students who say, ‘Can we do some of what we did in the video,’” he says. “They are clearly still interacting with that content. I was surprised by how many.”

Wynne, in his first year at Sumas after teaching previously at a private school in Bellingham and in the Hood Canal, partnered with the music teachers at both Everson and Nooksack elementary schools to create videos for the start of school and remote learning. Wynne focused on content for third through fifth graders, such things as basic singing — look up “solfege” to see what this means for Sumas students — and more complicated projects, such as learning a song in Korean and some of the history of that song. 

Megan Vigre, Sumas principal, calls Wynne a “celebrity” at the school because the students and families have connected so well with the learning. 

Wynne says he much prefers teaching music in person and having the students back in class has been a tremendous help, but they haven’t stopped making the videos as some students are still learning from home. “I think what has made them more successful is that we tried to keep them energetic,” he says. “I am passionate about the content and it was important to me to treat the students like young men and women and not baby them. I treat the content with the serious gloves it deserves, but have fun doing it.” 

The engagement has exceeded expectations. “I was surprised how many kids watched the videos and told me about it,” he says. “Some of the kids coming in person are still watching them. They are clearly doing it and learning it and I regularly hear about kids, on purpose for fun, who want to go through something we taught on the video 15 to 20 times in their own room.” 

The current popular video has to do with students learning the song “Bring Me a Little Water, Silvy,” combining both singing and body percussion. Vigre says the students are learning some unique perspectives in music and Wynne says he now so values the time he gets to spend with the students in person, all while realizing the additional connections and resources the videos can provide. 

“If we took (the videos) away, we would be losing something,” he says. “Clearly there is something there.” 

Wynne, who moved back to Whatcom County with his wife and is excited to be in a small school, says his new job is like a dream. He loves teaching in a community full of students with parents who care about them and are involved in their lives, calling it a “wonderful experience” and one he hasn’t always seen in his teaching career. Combining his passion for teaching music and the students’ love of learning has led to a renewed interest in music at Sumas Elementary, both in the school building and at home.