If your child is starting secondary school in 2014, then you may be thinking about your different options for entry to local schools, particularly the Music Aptitude Test that is offered at schools such as Haberdasher's Askes' in New Cross and Prendergast Hilly Fields.
The Music Aptitude test for 2014 entry will take place in Autumn 2013. Get a head start on practising for the test by using these training materials produced by the SE22 Piano School in conjunction with audio engineer and musician James Richmond.
What is the Music Aptitude Test (MAT)?
The MAT is a series of tests that use a combination of instruments including electronically generated sounds. Students that are familiar with the Aural part of ABRSM and Trinity exams may not necessarily be at an advantage as these tests are all conducted at the piano in the examination. The MAT tests use intervals smaller than a semitone and on the piano, such an interval does not exist. The MAT uses a wide variety of instruments and electronic ‘beeps’ so that instrumentalists do not have any advantage over students that may not have studied music formally. For this reason, we decided to commission a set of sample tests that we can use with our students to prepare them as fully as possible for the MAT.
Watch a video of a sample Music Aptitude Test:
You are invited to the SE22 Piano School Family Classical Music Concert at Alleyn's School, January 27th 2013
This is our annual showcase for our younger piano students. We welcome families to come along and hear our students perform. Babies are most welcome to come and make lots of noise! We don’t just have pianists on stage - will have opera singers and instrumentalists too. We are mostly performing classical music but there will be a little bit of jazz and pop music too.
View more information about the recital here along with videos from the 2012 recital at Kingsdale Foundation School:
Happy New Year from the Dulwich Piano Festival team. The competition is now open to students in the South London area and beyond. Come and take part at a piano competition at Alleyn's School in June 2013.
We have three classes for beginners, a Set Piece class for Under 16s, 8 graded classes and a class just for adults.
East Dulwich-based sculptor offers baby hand and feet casting in the comfort of your home. Professional baby casting appointments are available everyday including Sat and Sun and can be planned to suit your baby's routine.
The casts are available in a variety of finishes including metallic and stone-effect resins, bronze and silver.
Lou is running a special offer in the month of September for Dulwich Mums' blog readers which is 2 for 1 in all the resin finishes.
The next Sparkle & Spin sample sale is on September the 10th 10-2pm at St Barnabas Parish Hall, 23 Dulwich Village, London, SE21 7BT.
We casually strolled up around 11am to the last sample sale and found that about half the stock had already been sold, so do try and get here when it opens to grab the bargains!
With up to 70% off from all your favourite Danish kids designers including Ej Sikke Lej, Hollys and more! There are LOADS of fantastic things for the babies so if you have a tiny one or a bump make sure you put this date in your diary.
22nd July, 10am. If interested, please leave a comment here.
A local photographer, Lorenzo Ali, has done lots of pics of East Dulwich babies and is usually in the region of £300 for a portrait shoot. I was talking to him about doing a group photo session with all the babes/toddlers/kids together and he suggested the following:
Cost per child: £25 to be pre-paid by June 14th.
Photos would be in an outdoors setting such as the park during a picnic or similar event.
He would cover: natural, reportage-style photos of the babies in a group, individual portraits and pictures of the mums and babies. Obviously how many photos he gets of each child and mother depend on the mood of the baby, but I would imagine you would get about 10 photos of your child, including the group shot. We will limit the size of the group to about 10 babies, but if there's enough interest, we could do two sessions. Older children and dads are, of course, welcome to come along too.
He will provide the hi-res images on CD to each parent. I will also make these up into a Photobook, so can order extra copies for whoever wants one. That cost is about £25 - £30 but that's entirely optional whether you want this or not. You can see the book first before buying it.
Calling all babies and toddlers to raise money for the Meningitis Trust by doing a sponsored waddle (or walk or crawl) around a short circuit in Dulwich Park on the 24th of April. We will have a fun day of waddling, picnicking, face painting and balloon animals for the kids. If you would like to get involved, send me a message so that I can add you to our fundraising page. All you need to do is raise some money (we are aiming for £15 from each participant) via our charity page and then turn up on the day:
Jelly Belly Post-caesarean Pilates classes cater for Mums who have recently had a caesarean birth and are looking to regain their core strength whilst improving energy levels, postural alignment, body shape, tone and ultimately lose their jelly belly. 10 week courses are currently on offer at the Dulwich Therapy Rooms with a new one starting on Thursday the 19th of November. The cost is £100.
To sign up please call Kellie on 07985700879 or email info@jellybellypt.com Or for more information go onto www.jellybellypt.com
Cheeky Monkey's tickets selling fast now - less than 4 weeks to go until the fantasic Christmas party. We've also started taking delivery of all the lovely things for the goody bags - baby skincare from Weleda, Arbonne, childrens' vitamins from Animal Parade, herbal teas, Floradix elixir... the list goes on. Well worth the ticket price alone!! Check out the link for all the info: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/63511
The NCT Cheeky Monkeys Charity Christmas party is coming to East Dulwich on the 12th of December. Come along and raise money for the NCT.
We will have lots of fun for kids of all ages:
Balloon animals, a Boogie Kids dance workshop provided by Push Studios, a Monkey Music session for babies and toddlers and Santa's grotto with a gift for all children. We will be raffling tickets on the day to win some great prizes: Mum and babies Pilates classes from Push Studios, Jojomamanbebe gift vouchers, Biff Clothing vouchers, acupuncture sessions and lots more! See below for details of all the raffle prizes.
Tickets must be pre-bought online from We Got Tickets. There may be a few tickets available on the door at a higher price, but check back here to see whether we have any left the day before the event.
Tickets:
£10 - admit 1 adult and 1 child £20 - 2 adults and 2 children OR 1 adult and 3 children.
The party is from 1pm - 4pm at Push Studios.
Event sponsors & raffle prizes:
Push Studios (donation of venue space and dance workshops, vouchers for mum and baby pilates classes) So Baby Organic food hamper worth £50 - delivered fresh to your door on a day of your choice, plus 15% off all orders via leaflet in the goody bag. KS Therapy - one treatment with local maternity reflexologist and cranio-sacral therapist Katie Sedgwick (worth £50) The Organic Pharmacy - gift voucher Jojomamanbebe - £30 voucher for the raffle Giles Davies, acupuncturist - general health, maternity acupuncture and more. Donation of 1 treatment and a follow-up treatment worth £100. Monkey Music - Music classes for babies and toddlers Biff Clothing, Dulwich Village - 2 x 25% off vouchers
Lots more sponsorship coming, I'll post up details as the offers come in! If you are a local business and would like to sponsor our event, please email me: lorraine.liyanage@mac.com
Laura is organising a baby-free night out on April 20th to Liquorish on Lordship Lane. Get in touch with Laura if you would like to come! lpetersoneurin@gmail.com
We are going to Number 22 Restaurant in Herne Hill for a night out without the babies, so line up your babysitter and join us for a much-needed escape from the little ones.
If anyone needs recommendations for childminders or babysitters, feel free to ask as we have a good pool of reliable, trustworthy babysitters suitable for looking after babies of all ages.
This event is organised by Slingmeet at The Plough on Friday March 6th, but I thought it would be of interest to all Plough Baby Club attendees.
Come and meet sling-wearing parents for advice on wearing different types of slings. You can also try on a wide range of slings - ring slings, cloth-tie slings, mei-tai, back carriers etc. Everyone welcome, including pregnant women, dads, people who haven't tried a sling but would like to.More info here.
Verona Hall will be doing a baby massage demo at 1pm. Verona is a well-known Independent Midwife who provides high quality, individualised care to women in the South East London region.
Infant, or Baby, Massage is an ancient art. It has been practiced in India for hundreds of years. It is comparatively new to the Western World but is now much more easily accessible to new parents via qualified infant massage instructors.
Who can do Infant Massage? Parents or caregivers with babies aged 6 weeks old until crawling age.
Why do Infant Massage? Infant massage brings many benefits both for the parents as well as the baby.
The benefits include: • Relaxation for parents and babies • Enhances the BOND between parent and baby • Promotes better sleep for babies • Assists with digestion and colic • Boosts the immune system of the baby • Provides relief for teething pains • Makes baby feel wanted, loved and secure • Makes baby more aware of their body • Helps to understand your baby's ways • Helps to build confidence in handling of babies
Verona runs classes weekly in Dulwich on Lordship Lane at the Therapy Rooms above Healthmatters shop.
Dates: Weekly on Mondays 13.00hrs-14.00hrs Venue: The Dulwich Therapy Rooms 47 Lordship Lane LONDON SE22 8EP Booking essential
About Verona:
l am a midwife with experience of working within the NHS and the private sector. Before becoming a midwife I worked as a registered general nurse for over 7 years.
I qualified as a midwife in Coventry in 1996, where I worked for 3 years before coming to London. I was employed as a caseload midwife in Greenwich where I performed water births and home births. Since January 2001 I have worked at a wonderful private birth unit in St Johns Wood.
As an accredited Lactation Consultant I can help with breastfeeding. I am also a Reiki practitioner and use Shiatsu techniques to help mothers throughout their pregnancy, labour and delivery. I use homeopathic and herbal remedies to help the timely progression of labour. I am a Midwife and Lactation Consultant with a history of providing high quality care. As an Independent midwife my aim is to make your special time even better, with personalised one to one care. I run Preparation for Birth classes, Father’s only sessions, Baby massage courses and workshops in Breastfeeding, Homebirths & Water births, Newborn resuscitation and First Aid.
I have just completed an HypnoBirthing training course, so will also be providing HypnoBirthing classes later in the year.
Many new mums find the transition back to work after maternity leave a bit of a shock. Beth Follini, Life/Work Coach at Ticktockcoaching will be leading a lively and participative discussion on going back to work after maternity leave which will leave new mums with some positive ideas on the return to work.
Please note the time of this seminar has changed to 1pm. Please leave a comment here if you would like to attend.
Laura is organising a baby-free night out on April 20th to Liquorish on Lordship Lane. Get in touch with Laura if you would like to come! lpetersoneurin@gmail.com
We are going to Number 22 Restaurant in Herne Hill for a night out without the babies, so line up your babysitter and join us for a much-needed escape from the little ones.
This event is organised by Slingmeet at The Plough on Friday March 6th, but I thought it would be of interest to all Plough Baby Club attendees.
Verona Hall will be doing a baby massage demo at 1pm. Verona is a well-known Independent Midwife who provides high quality, individualised care to women in the South East London region.
About Verona:
Many new mums find the transition back to work after maternity leave a bit of a shock. Beth Follini, Life/Work Coach at Ticktockcoaching will be leading a lively and participative discussion on going back to work after maternity leave which will leave new mums with some positive ideas on the return to work.
