Students at Culburra Public School will soon be singing the new school song they helped compose.

They will sing it with pride and enthusiasm.

A computer malfunction meant the only piano recording of the old school song was lost.

Principal Mel Day was not sure what to do and then an idea came to mind.

She contacted well-known local singer/songwriter Paul Greene, who has a child at the school, to get his suggestions.

“We were really scrambling around to find a replacement version and so I had a chat with Paul, thinking we could lay a track of the same tune but make it a little bit more modern and updated,” she said.

She said they then started to talk about totally revamping the song.

“We wanted to work with the staff and children to get some phrases and just see what we could tap into in terms of thoughts and sentiments. Once Paul did that he unleashed a flood,” the principal said.

Mr Greene was happy to help.

“My first thing was I wanted the whole school involved,” Mr Greene said.

He wanted the students involved because the song is about their school.

“We got them in class by class and we just brainstormed. The students were telling me everything about their town, the beach, Lake Wollumboola and other things that were important to them,” he said.

“From that, we condensed things down into the words

“Culburra has got its own identity with surfing being a big part of it, there is the wildlife and the Yunin people who have a really important part to play. So it was getting all those things to be part of a song,” Mr Greene said.

He enjoyed working with the students.

“With children’s writing they don't have any inhibitions or any preconceptions - they are open to ideas and they contribute really freely which makes it a really fun process,” he said.

“They can now actually listen to it and are part of it and have ownership of it.

“Usually music is something they hear on the radio, play a CD or an album or download but here they are immersed in it and part of it. They have created something and it might be the school song for a fair while.”

Mr Greene gave the children space to be creative.

“One of the things I tell the kids is there are no rules, there is no good or bad and there is just expression and what you think and what you want it to be,” he said.

“I do a lot of songwriting with kids and it can be really threataputic for them.

“I was speaking to the teachers here and they were saying when they went to school, music was something that came out of a book.

“This has been a great process and good to see how the well the kids responded.”

Mr Greene went to Falls Creek Public and can’t remember if the school had a song at the time.

This was the first time he helped write a school song.

Mrs Day is happy with the way the song and how the process developed.

“It a nice connection for the kids when they sing their school song knowing that they have had that hand in developing it,” she said.

Mrs Day said there would be an element of sadness from former students about the song they sang at school.

“I would certainly understand that but the original song stays with us and we have it visually on the hall wall. It's still part of us, we still have it there and can see it ,” she said.

Mrs Day said they tried to be as respectful as possible.

“What I feel we have done is actually built on the sentiment of the original song, ” she said.

“We are just trying to just reflect on what it means to our current group of students.

“It really has the best of both worlds and it's really important to hang onto our traditions and honour them but also to develop new traditions.”

Mrs Day stressed changing the song was not something they did matter-of-factly.

The original song was written by principal Mary Brady in the 1970s and its sentiment was the school beside the sea.

“I hope we are honouring the foundation we were given - not disassembling it,” she said.