About 250 middle school students were dazzled by an eight-piece band’s rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In” to kick off a music-themed Let’s Talk About It event organized by the UFT’s Member Assistance Program on April 8. Musicians from Mozart for Munchkins and mental health practitioners from MindUP were on hand to facilitate the activities, all designed to encourage social-emotional learning. Yimahi Cid, a social studies teacher from South Bronx International MS, said the 23 students she brought to the Commonpoint community center in the Bronx were excited to see instruments up close that they’d never seen in person. Cid said listening to music could help spark “empathy and understanding” among students. “If you can learn how to listen to music, you can learn how to listen to each other,” she said. MAP Director Tina Puccio said the program’s choice of middle school students was intentional. “Research suggests that speaking to middle schoolers is very important because their brains are forming in a way we can’t reach in elementary or high school,” she said.