Canada students perform in Grand Bahama

Thu, May 6th 2010, 12:00 AM

COCHRANE, Canada - For some talented Cochrane High School students, a working summer vacation came early.

The school’s band members returned April 23 from a week-long cruise to the Bahamas where they visited two of the islands, and performed for delighted passengers on the cruise ship.

According to the school’s music director Merrilie Stonewall, the students were pretty determined to make the trip happen. “We have a lot of interested kids who did a lot of fundraising,” she said. Stonewall added that the 50 students from all four grades performed three times on board the Carnival cruise ship, as well as for 1,200 students at a high school on Grand Bahama Island.

Grand Bahama is one of the most northern Bahamian islands, and the one closest to the United States. The group also visited the capital city of Nassau, which is located on the island of New Providence. “The performances were fantastic,” said Stonewall.

“But the camaraderie was wonderful too. Students from different grades got to know each other which they don’t always walking the hallways (of the school).” She added learning about the country was also an important aspect of the trip. “This is a developing country, but everyone was so friendly and caring,” she said, explaining as well that the students were great ambassadors for Cochrane.

“Everyone said how polite Cochrane High students are.” Another benefit of a high-profile trip like this, said Stonewall, is a more serious issue. “It helps keep fine arts in the school,” she explained “I’m very worried about Rocky View. I know there’s no money and I worry about losing these sorts of programs.”

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