Press Release:
CARTERSVILLE, Ga., April 18, 2017– South Central Middle School band students took the trip of a lifetime to Honolulu, Hawaii during their recent Spring Break. Performing at the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor and earning a gold award for their performance in a national competition, the students got the opportunity to take what they have learned in the classroom into a real-world setting. They also got the chance to snorkel at Hanauma Bay and visit the Dole Plantation and the Polynesian Cultural Center on their trip.
Sheila Smith, SCMS band director, believes this trip offered the students lasting memories. She said, “Visiting the USS Arizona Memorial and paying tribute to those who lost their lives there stood out the most. It was a very reverent, somber place and the students took away lots of history from this day.
“Also, they gave a patriotic performance at Pearl Harbor and gave a separate concert with different music learned in the classroom for competition. They were critiqued and got an onstage clinic with Colonel Phil Waite from the United States Field Band.” The opportunity to travel and perform in Hawaii arose from a past victory.
Smith said, “Last spring we won the grand championship award at the Southern Star Music Festival. The students scored higher than any middle school or high school group in the competition. Based on that win, the students were invited by Worldstrides to perform in Honolulu, Hawaii. This entire school year, Pearl Harbor has been celebrating the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”