“I taught at Ramridge Infants School in Luton where I held the School’s Music post as well as being one of the Infant School Teachers for years one and two, so Reception children in today’s schooling,” continued Sheila. “When I started teaching, things were very different to how they are today. For example, the classes were organised in family groupings, so my class of 40 children, consisted of all ages. “In my role as Music Teacher, I delivered music education to pupils across the entire school. I greatly enjoyed the concerts, rehearsals and lessons, but the most fulfilling aspect was supporting shy children as they found their voice and became confident participants within the group.
“The children were such characters and sometimes a bit cheeky but, on the whole, well-behaved. Once I had to reprimand a pupil for calling someone a ‘Daft Ada’ only to find out that he was chatting about Darth Vader in the Star Wars film. Thinking back to that still makes me laugh.” Shelia has always loved music, organising the school concerts, musicals and Nativities and she had a special trick for keeping her pupils interested and engaged in her classes and at rehearsals. “I used to sing instructions,” continued Sheila. However, Sheila’s singing didn’t stop there. “At the end of each day the chairs would go up and if I saw anything out of place or laying on the floor I’d sing ‘I see pencil’, which used to get all the children looking around to find the pencil and tidy everything away. It was much better than shouting at them.”
After Sheila retired, she took on the role of Supply Teacher at schools in the Stopsley area of Luton and also became a Choir Mistress at her local church. “Perhaps I was looking for a ‘Choir Purpose’,” chuckled Sheila. “When I first started as the church’s Choir Mistress, I had three eight-year-old Choristers, but I built the Choir up to nearly 35 members which included all vocal ranges – Trebles, Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Bass voices. My passion has always been encouraging everyone to enjoy music, and I have always been very happy with my choice of career roles,” added Sheila.
“Sheila is a wonderful lady and often talks passionately about her music teaching years,” said Emma Lawrance, the Registered Manager at Little Bramingham Farm.
“Shelia takes part in our wide variety of meaningful activities, but without a doubt, she’ll always be at our music-orientated events or sessions, albeit one of our regular singers giving a performance or sharing musical time with our visiting intergenerational group, Musical Bumps; Sheila will definitely be there, singing and joining in.” “I really wanted to make sure that the pupils’ early years at school were fun, enjoyable and happy. Looking back, I hope that all my pupils – over all the years – thought and felt that I was a caring Teacher who encouraged them to just do their best and never stop trying,” concluded Sheila.
Find out more about Little Bramingham Farm care home by calling 01582 582 433 or emailing [email protected].