00:00Out of 32 primary schools vying for spot in Monday's finals of the National Schools Panorama Competition, only 12 went through.
00:11But placing 16th out of 32 in the prelims was the first special needs school to ever take part in the competition, Ishii's Learning Centre.
00:21The school was invited by the Minister of Education to be a guest performance during today's finals.
00:27Education Minister Dr. Michael Daulat says he wanted to show the nation the potential every child has, no matter their learning challenges.
00:36Music teacher at the school Wainwright Telford says although Ishii's Learning Centre has been around for over 40 years and has incorporated a steel pan in the school, it's the first time they performed at the national level.
01:06As you know, Ishii is a special needs school, so I'm really happy that our children were able to showcase their talent.
01:12Despite we didn't place in the finals, we're happy to receive the invitation to perform.
01:18Telford says having missed the finals by just eight points or four schools, they're already looking forward to trying again next year.
01:27This year they performed Signal for Lara by Super Blue and practice, he says, began in September.
01:34A lot of our children are slow learners, we have children with advanced kids of ADHD, we have kids with, in different parts of the spectrum, so we have to cater for all of that.
01:47Also repetition is one of the things that we really paid attention to because things have to be over and over and over, sometimes you have to vocalise phrases just in order for them to get it.
01:57But I am happy that they were able to come out here and show that hard work does pay off.
02:02Telford says for special needs children, steel pan is a wonderful instrument that can teach the importance of working together.
02:10It's ideal for children with mobility issues and it's a plus, he joked, that it can also take a bit of banging up.
02:18More importantly, he says, taking part in competition has done well to boost the children's confidence and he hopes more schools like theirs would consider it.
02:28Something like this, it's possible, it doesn't matter where the children are in terms of their learning process.
02:35I mean, this, it boosts their morale to come on stage and to be able to perform in front of the peers or other schools.
02:41It is a confidence booster and I think this is something that is needed.
02:45So even if the schools have a music department, I wish that, you know, we can find more avenues that, you know, allow them to perform, not just around carnival time.
02:56It should be like an inclusive thing throughout the year.
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