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Director of Examinations of London College of Music, Prof John Howard, Managing Director, Directors, Managers and Principals of all respectable childcares and kindergartens affiliated with Seimpi School of Music, Representatives from press, Seimpi parents, ladies and gentlemen,

With this event today, it marks an important milestone for Seimpi School of Music, as it is the first time a local early childhood music program, which took root in Singapore 9 years ago, is now officially positioned under the umbrella of a world renowned professional body in music assessments and examination, the respectable and reputable London College of Music from the United Kingdom. It is also the first time, where local teachers are being recognized of their contribution in music education, to be appointed as assessors of the LCME MIM® Assessment.

The Music for the Intelligent Mind (MIM®) program has come a long way to achieve its present stage today. From a course, which was initially started and taught by me, till today, we have got over 8000 students who have since graduated or currently taking part in the course. Developing our own unique way of teaching approach is in itself a challenging task but we later realized that seeking recognition from parents was even harder that we thought. However, the early struggles of our colleagues, especially MIM® teachers have certainly paid off, as parents now reckon that we are one of their considerations when they make a decision on which music program their children should be in. So, today, having the honour to work with a world class music examination board, LCME, is truly a breakthrough for the MIM® program and also a monumental achievement for our team. With this, I would like to take the opportunity to thank our valuable partners, the directors of all our affiliated childcares/kindergartens, Learning Vision, Learning Horizon, PCF Sparkletots Childcare, Ikids, Cherie Hearts and the directors of other affiliated childcares/kindergartens who unfortunately cannot be with us today, for the confidence that they have entrusted in us, recognizing our curriculum and the abilities of our teachers especially at the beginning stage of MIM®, when MIM® was unknown to the public.

The collaboration with an examination board is never meant to be an intention to give stress to our little pre-school children in MIM® course. The assessment process is child friendly, putting children at ease with the assessor, and exposing them to an encouraging environment of making music, in a group setting that is never before experienced by pre- school music students in Singapore. Assessment at this stage should never be treated the same as other examinations for older children. This assessment’s objectives are to chart the little success or little steps that our pre-school children make in every aspect of music education, and to make sure they know and proud of their achievements in order to further their musical journey to scale even greater heights in the future.

With MIM® started officially in Malaysia and looking at the possibilities of expanding it to this region, MIM® has never looked so exciting and promising. We promise we will continue to carry our mission to bring the advantages and the benefits of MIM® program to more and more children and to fly the Singapore’s flag high, as the dedicated and true music educators of this region. We will work closely with London College of Music to upkeep the high standard of the delivery and the assessment of this program.

Lastly, we would like to thank our parents for their wonderful and continuous support throughout these years, and of course, not forgetting to thank the real gem, the little people, the children. It is their musical progress that gives credence to our mission and calling of this noble profession, to be a True Music Educator.

Thank you.

Read the speech by Professor John Howard, Director of Examinations (LCME)

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