The latest winner of 1. above, namely 'Impact Award' is Meadows Primary School and is a testament to the merit of the Second National Preventive Health Research Programme - BTAAP as evident in this Facebook link and explained below:

School: Meadows Primary School (VIC) Partner: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - Title of project: Pizzicato Effect Program explains that Meadows Primary School which has a population of 300 students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds with over 20 languages other than English spoken at home. The school is situated in a low socio-economic area of Melbourne.

The school needed to address issues of absenteeism and under-performing by many of its students and classroom and schoolyard behaviour was impacting on the students' ability to learn. There was the continuing problem of student disengagement. Staff who were working diligently to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes, acknowledged the need for learning and social development to occur in fields other than text-related curriculum. The recent merger of the two smaller schools to form Meadows Primary School created a difficult situation for the children and staff, but also an opportunity to start fresh.

The Pizzicato Effect is a partnership between Meadows Primary School and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO).  This partnership began in late 2008, in the context of significant community need and a unique learning opportunity.  Students in Grade 2 and above are tutored in classical music and string instrumental playing.  The partnership is creating pathways to new learning and developing the Self-esteem of children; some of whom are a part of a community experiencing the effects of generational poverty and others who are experiencing the hardships pertaining to new arrivals. The Pizzicato Effect has allowed children from both previous schools to begin together on a level playing field in a game new to all and offered a chance to apply music education to contribute in this context. In the previous ten years, not one student had received any music tuition, either in or out of school.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra engages the widest possible audience in outstanding live music experiences through performances, broadcasts, recordings, education and community programs reaching more than 200,000 people in Victoria and a broadcast audience of over 1,000,000 each year.  Its Education and Community Engagement programs are resourced through a mix of public funding, earned revenue, sponsorship and philanthropic support.  The MSO provides the Pizzicato Effect partnership with teaching artists, performance opportunities, concert experiences, administrative support, philanthropic supporters and advocacy.

The Pizzicato Effect uses the creative arts to influence broader learning and achievement, the year-round project enables every child in Grades 1 and 2 to learn Kodaly music and students in grades 3, 4 and 5 to learn a string instrument, provided at no cost to the student and these young people are tutored in classical music. This project has changed the culture of the school and is successfully delivering a unique arts residency partnership with weekly music classes and string instrument tuition. The children are taught by the MSO teaching artists, have access to MSO concerts and enjoy guest artist visits and performance opportunities. This allows over 150 children the opportunity to get acquainted with music and engage in new and challenging activities which foster important social skills and self-confidence. The Pizzicato Effect is having a powerful impact on the children and especially their engagement with learning.