Hello parents,
Yes, the weather has certainly been a concern for Mr. Puckett and myself as the trip has approached. Unfortunately, it does not seem that rescheduling is a feasible option at the moment, and we'd really hate to cancel. Currently, we've been stressing ways to make the day as comfortable as possible given the circumstances.
We've been relaying to students the following details about tomorrow:
1) There are many indoor activities tomorrow that should break up the time that students are exposed to the rain.
We perform in the morning, then students will have about 90 mins in the park. Then lunch is under covered pavilions so we should be dry. After another 60-90 minutes of free time in the park, we go to the awards ceremony which is inside the old Hershey Arena. After another 90ish minute block of free time, we proceed to the "Chocolate Factory" complex for dinner at the food court. After that, it's just a quick walk to the buses.
2) Students can seek indoor/dry activities as much as possible during their free times in the park.
While we worked hard to allow students time to enjoy the park on their own, they can certainly try and find dry activities tomorrow. The shops, arcades and limited rides are available. Our lunch pavilions are available to us (and only us and one elementary chorus group) from 12pm until 4pm if there is particular heavy rain, and we don't want to fight the crowds.
3) We've stressed with students to be prepared and plan for tomorrow's weather.
Umbrellas, ponchos, changes of clothes/socks/etc. have all been discussed with students.
4) If circumstances change, the teachers/chaperones will be utilizing our phones tree to contact parents and alert them to any updates.
A worst case scenario (the park closes/etc.) would have us returning to school and "hunkering down" until students could be picked up. How the music competition would proceed in such a case is undetermined. We have a call in with the festival company asking about such possibilities.
5) Driving in the rain:
We've been in contact with the bus company, and will be keeping an eye on road conditions in real time as we go. We'll be sticking to major highways to ensure the smoothest travel conditions possible. If road flooding becomes an issue, we'll look at the safest alternatives to our primary route.
And if you feel you need to keep your son or daughter home because of *any* concerns, we'd certainly understand. (Refunds are unfortunately unavailable as all bills have been paid by this point.)
I wish I had better news, but this is where we currently stand. We hope to make the best of a poor situation. If you have any further questions/concerns, please feel free to call or email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.