Few people even think about school during Spring Break, but the BV West and Southwest orchestras spent half of their break on a school-related trip in Hawaii.
The orchestra spent six days in Oahu, Hawaii. They left on March 9 and returned on the 15. Both schools combined and sent a total of 70 students. The trip was organized and managed by the Music Celebrations Concert Tour Company. Assistant principal and activities director David Stubblefield and orchestra director Lynnita Harris also accompanied the orchestra to Hawaii.
The students performed at an open-air shopping mall, the Polynesian Cultural Center and on the deck of the Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor. They played songs including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “Stars and Stripes Forever”, and the American national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”.
With Hawaii being a popular vacation destination, the orchestra found time to balance concerts and entertainment.
“Lots of our students took surfing lessons, and we took two groups out on a boat trip where they could see a lot of whales and marine life,” Stubblefield said.
They spent time on Hawaii’s beaches, attended an authentic Hawaiian Luau, and visited the Pearl Harbor memorial.
“My favorite things to do were the surfing and the ride on a catamaran [a type of sailboat],” senior Maddie Kapfer said.
Some students even hiked up the 761-foot Diamond Head volcanic cone on Oahu Island. At the Polynesian Cultural Center, students enjoyed hands-on activities popular to Hawaiian culture, like learning to play the ukulele. But all was not well in paradise.
During the week they were in Hawaii, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, causing a devastating 30-foot tall tsunami. The tsunami was expected to diminish by the time it reached Hawaii, but the waves were still forecasted to be an imposing six to ten feet tall. The students were staying in the Ohana East Hotel near Wakiki Beach when the tsunami hit.
“That evening, we were doing a scavenger hunt,” Stubblefield said. “We started hearing second-hand stories about something that happened in Japan. When I got back to the hotel, the first thing I did was watch the news.”
Even though the hotel was several blocks from the beach and not within the evacuation zone, students moved up to the sixth floor to wait out the tsunami. Ms. Harris kept parents and friends in Kansas informed of what was happening by posting updates on her Facebook page.
“I would appreciate all prayers for the safety of the 70 I have in Waikiki,” she posted on her page on Thursday night.
Luckily, the waves diminished more than expected, and the tsunami that hit the Hawaiian coast only averaged about a foot in height. Students, parents, and orchestra sponsors alike breathed a sigh of relief.
“Everyone moved to the 6th floor over a tsunami that was less than six feet tall, maximum,” freshman Alex Timpe said. “We weren’t even in the evacuation zone.”
Despite the tsunami threat, the trip continued as planned the next day. Students went on to take hula-dancing lessons, visit the Dole Plantation, and experience more Hawaiian culture. The orchestra did many things that would be impossible to experience in Kansas, but the unplanned event turned out to be the most memorable.