Huron Expositor, 2009-10-28, Page 9•
News
The Huron Expositor • October 28, 2009 Page 9
Girls' marching band heading to Dominican Republic
The Seaforth and District All -
Girls' Marching Band is once again
fundraising to take a trip to the Do-
minican Republic to supply school
children with music lessons, instru-
ments and school supplies.
On Oct. 18, the band hosted a din-
ner and silent auction at the Sea -
forth Community Centres and raised
$2,500. The cost of the trip for each
of the 35 people attending, includ-
ing the 20 band members, is about
$1,600.
Sharon Thompson, a member of
the band's executive board, says the
group still has quite a way to go be-
fore reaching that amount.
Thompson says plans are in the
works for band members to sell cas-
es of frozen chicken and poinsettias
closer to Christmastime. Holiday pa-
rades that the band will participate
in will also generate revenue to go
towards the trip, she says.
The band will board a plane in
Kitchener on March 10 and fly to
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
They'll spend most of their time in
the small village of Cabeza de Zbro,
next to their hotel resort, until they
leave for home on March 17.
The band made a similar trip to the
same location last March, when they.
took along more than 150 school bags
full of school supplies, shoes and toi-
letries, along with 100 recorders to a
small school in the village.
During their time there, the band
members also noticed the under-
privileged school children had al-
most no reading material.
Thompson says the band came up
with an idea to create a lending li-
brary to be used by the students.
Band members and members of the
executive have recently been order-
ing children's books written in Span-
ish over the Internet, which they
plan to bring to the school.
The group is also taking along
school supplies and also more re-
corders, since many of the ones they
took along last year have been lost or
stolen.
Kindergarten Registration 2010-2011
November 2009 at Your Community_ Public School
The Avon Maitland
District School Board and
its community public
elementary schools are
proud to offer a quality
learning opportunity for
our young dtizens entering
school in fall 2010.
Dates and Locations
Clinton & Seaforth Area Schools
Thuradr* November 5
Holmesville Public School - Cali 519-482-7751
Ural* Navembar 10
Clinton Public School Call 519-482-9424
Thursday, November 12
Hullet P5 Call 519-523-4201
Huron Centennial PS Can 519-233-3330
6November 1'3
Monday,
Blyth P5 - Call 519-523-9201
Thursday, November 19
Seaforth Public School Call 519-5 7-0790
Junior $Jndergarten
Children 3 years old
by Dec 31, 2009,
are eligible for junior
kinderprten in Sep 2010.
Chuck Reid
Director of Education
www
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During the month of
November we celebrate
the registration, with
special activities at
many schools, such as
crafts, story time, music
and refreshments.
Parents can learn more
about their child's
development, learn
about local programs
and services, and get
tips on how to prepare
their child for school.
For further Information
call your school or
1-800-592-5437.
Senior Kindergarten
Children 4 years old
by Dec 31, 2009,
are eligible for senior
kindergarten in Sep 2010.
ou1rs_shoois.cal
jlinnY V�rChair
Thompson says that last year, the
school children in Cabeza de Toro
"went crazy" for the donated record-
ers.
"They had never had a music les-
son before," Thompson says. "Their
teacher broke down and cried. He
spoke very little English, but he
told us, 'You are the answer to my
prayers.'"
Seeing the amount of poverty in
the village also had a profound effect
on the girls in the band.
"The girls realize these kids live
like this, with way less than we
could ever imagine," Thompson says.
"They have a lack of everything."
Band leader Charlie Kalbfleisch.
says during last year's trip, the band
marched from their resort into the.
slums of Cabeza de Ibro — a short
•
trip that proved to be a real an eye-
opener for the girls.
"Some kids cried when they saw
the slums," Kalbfleisch says. "There
was so much poverty We saw four
families living under one roof togeth-
er, who had to share one bathroom."
Kalbfleish says the children in the
village always respond to music and
enjoy learning how to play the re-
corders and watching the band per-
form.
He says the band is working on a
new Latin-American routine for the
. trip, which will feature tunes such as
-::Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vida Loca
and Lou Bega's Mambo No. 5
The band has a repertoire of 29
songs and practises every Wednes-
day night.
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