October 4, 2016 at 8:52 a.m.
A whole new world: RHS band, choir plan trip to Disney World
A whole new world: RHS band, choir plan trip to Disney World
By Kayla Thomason-
The band and choir students go on a trip every three years, according to the music department heads. The Disney trip will cost over $1,000, plus dining, per individual and there are about 90 students and 20 chaperones planning to go.
Three coach buses will transport the merry group, which will be on the open road for 24 hours, enjoying good company, playing games, watching movies and more. They will leave Rhinelander March 11 and return March 17.
"We really engage the kids so they aren't just sitting there on their phones or their computers because some of the things they see on the way down, just scenery-wise, is stuff that they haven't seen before," said Desiree Wattelet, choir director.
The students are already abuzz with plans for the trip.
"They are already talking about the bus ride, how they are going to manage their electronics on the bus, how long is the bus ride going to be, how many times are they going to say 'Are we there yet?'" she said. "Some of them have never seen the ocean so they are really excited about going to the ocean and swimming."
The students are equally thrilled at the prospect of leaving the cold Wisconsin weather for Florida.
They will visit Cocoa Beach, attend a comedy show, try out the four parks and tackle the rides, attend workshops and perform for the masses.
When the students are on stage a movie will be playing in the background and they will be singing. The event will be videotaped and they will get a copy of it, according to Connie Piasecki, band director. They don't know what songs they will be putting on at Disney World yet, but the teachers are hoping for classic Disney.
"I know for our Spring Pops concert a couple years ago we did Disney, and the kids are really excited to sing anything Disney, so I think it really wouldn't matter what they chose so long as it was Disney to them," Wattelet said.
Some of the students have never been to Disney World, and they aren't the only ones.
"I've never been to Disney so I'm probably just as excited as the kids to see all the different stuff," Wattelet said. "I'm excited to have the kids perform down there and just be part of a new atmosphere that they're not around up here."
For others who have been to Disney before, it will be an enjoyable experience to watch others take in the parks for the first time.
"For me, I really like the trips because it's so neat to see the trip through the kids' eyes," Piasecki said. "I've been there before but experiencing it with a lot of students - and as Desiree mentioned - a lot that have not been out of the state, it's a whole new excitement. It's just really neat to see them so excited about everything."
The last time RHS band and choir took a trip to Disney World was in 2002.
"We know that it's been a real positive trip for other (area) schools," she said.
Wattelet thinks the trip helps the students explore and grow. Piasecki added that it helps students learn how to tolerate people for long periods of time without breaks.
"A trip of this magnitude, you really need a lot of funds and we really try to get as many kids that we have involved as possible because it is an experience a lot of them won't have otherwise," Piasecki said.
The RHS band and choir students are prepared to go the distance to raise the necessary funds and have several group events planned such as a Culver's fundraiser night scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 13.
During the Hanson's Garden Village Fall Festival on Oct. 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the students will be selling hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, caramel apples, bread, cookies, bars, vegetarian chili and/or chicken soup, hot cider, water and hot chocolate.
The Lions Club Fisheree, to be held Feb. 11 and 12 at the Hodag Park boat landing, is the second to last group fundraising event.
The last one will be a Friday fundraiser with CT's Deli, Feb. 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. where 50 percent of drink sales and tips will go to the students. There will be music, 50/50 paddles, raffles, food and cash bar.
There are also several individual sale events planned.
A Christmas holiday wreath sale will start Oct. 4, with orders to be submitted by Oct. 24. The evergreen wreaths will be delivered on Nov. 18. The sale is through CCL Gardens.
People can also order creamy, heavenly cheesecakes with sample day and sale beginning Nov. 1. Orders will be turned in Nov. 21 and delivery is Dec. 3. The sale is through Gourmet's Delight in Elk Grove, Ill.
The final individual sale is cookie dough. Sample day and sale starts Jan. 11, with orders to be turned in Jan. 25 and the dough delivered Feb. 15.
There are also a few ongoing sales, such as a music department window decal, a 3-foot repositional Hodag, and music department cookbooks, quilt raffle and Hodag ponchos.
"The Band Parent Organization is helping several kids that can't afford the trip and they are actively pursuing fundraisers for themselves," Piasecki said.
To make a donation, sponsor a student or get more information on the various sales, call the school at (715) 365-9500.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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