After watching the Dartmouth High a cappella group perform, students at DeMello Elementary were inspired to start their own group.

The DeMello Harmonics was born in January. The group consists of 10 to 30 kids who give up their recess time every Friday to practice singing.

"It lets us explore different ways we can use our voice, and gives us experience in front of an audience," said fifth grader Haley Cabral.

In their approximately 30-minute session on May 12, the group worked on technique through the Quaiver Music program, practiced their performance song — "The National Anthem," and developed their own choreography.

"We get to find new songs instead of doing songs from the books," added Isabella "Izzie" Cashman. The group practiced Ariana Grande's "Problem" for fun, with Cashman taking the lead on rapping. The Harmonics also YouTube’d potential performance songs.

A cappella not only gives the group more creative freedom than the chorus class included in the curriculum, but it also develops students' problem solving and teamwork skills, said Music Instructor Mariel Zangari.

"This is really young for a cappella developmentally, but they're up to the challenge," Zangari said, adding that she acts more as a guide when it comes to the group’s dance moves.

"I like it because we all have different dreams and we get to tie it in," said Callista Levy, explaining that many of the group members have an interest in theater and dance. "It helps me to be very confident to use my voice," she continued.

Mostly, the group enjoys spending time with friends, the students said.

The extracurricular is not graded, so Zangari tries to keep it fun and develop the students' skills so they're ready for the middle and high school levels.