By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The tradition continues for Great Bend High School singers. During Monday's USD 428 Board of Education meeting, vocal music instructor Susan Stambaugh sought approval from the board to take her students to Washington, D.C. during Spring Break next spring.
"It is such an important thing, I believe, for these kids to be able to do," she said. "As I'm going through all these records and letters that kids give me, it makes me really remember that's why all this work is worth it, and the expense."
Students and some parents will travel via bus to Kansas City on March 18. After an overnight stay, the group will fly to D.C. before flying back early on March 23. The students will miss only one day of school and have the opportunity to take in the sights of the nation's capital, as well as perform.
"With the three performances we always are intent on giving, it's not just like we're taking a tour and going to sightsee, even though that's such a big part of it," Stambaugh said.
Great Bend High School's A Cappella Choir was formed in 1936, and the Spring Break trips have occurred every other year since 1994. Stambaugh estimates 1,700 students and parents have made the trip over the years.
One mainstay of the trips has been a performance at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, one of the 10 largest churches in the United States. Stambaugh said the choir will have to audition to perform.
"I'm very proud to say we have fundraised 100 percent every time," said Stambaugh. "We have not failed, we have not lost a kid, we have not had an incident. Again, that's the support of the parents."
The trip is fully funded through fundraising and private means. Stambaugh said the rent-a-student program is already underway, and the students will again hold bake sales and garage sales to help raise funds. The board voted 7-0 to approve the trip.