Bernard Zell’s Fall 2025 Music Club
— Overture Games•Lead Teacher: Sarah Yates
Students Blast Off with Original Music Creations
When the final notes of the semester echoed through Bernard Zell’s music room, students weren’t just performing; they were launching. Each week, the classroom transformed into a mini music studio where laughter, experimentation, and game-based challenges mixed like instruments in a symphony.
🎵 Building Beats and Bonds
From their first meeting on September 9, Sarah Yates’s after-school musicians were eager to explore sound through play. They began with Rhythm Rally, learning classroom norms and troubleshooting Wi‑Fi as they connected iPads to the Overture Games platform. By late September, they were composing harmonies and unlocking musical missions across Levels 1–7.
Today went well! One student joined the group, Max, and he jumped right in with the music challenges.
Yay, everything worked today! We got through all the missions.
Even small tech hurdles like Incredibox being blocked turned into opportunities for problem‑solving. Each class brought new sounds, smiles, and small wins that built toward the grand finale.
🚀 Teamwork in Action
As students advanced through ten levels of rhythm, melody, and dynamics, teamwork became just as important as timing. During the final session on November 17, 2025, the group revisited their favorite activities, forming their own teams to replay Rocket Races and celebrate how far they had come.
Everyone was excited about the keychains and cheering each other on. We ended up playing all of the rocket races as a group, and the kids loved making their own teams and replaying the games they’d already mastered.
After a semester of challenges, students left proudly wearing their collectible Overture keychains, a small but powerful symbol of effort, persistence, and shared joy.
🌟 Focus, Creativity, and the Star System
By mid‑October, students were learning about instrument families and melody composition while navigating the open world of YouTube videos and digital instruments. When distractions arose, Sarah used Overture’s built‑in star system to help students refocus and reward positive participation.
Some of the kids went rogue on YouTube, but when I gave stars to students who stuck to the playlist, everyone came right back in. They loved earning stars for good choices.
Those star-based moments of guidance turned playful learning into a lesson in digital citizenship, showing students that creativity works best with focus and teamwork.
