A Blustery Beginning Makes Way For An Excellent Ending

The class of 2017 spent months planning their senior trip to Disney World. Who would have thought that they would be faced with Hurricane Matthew the day that they were supposed to fly out. On October 6th, they were scheduled to fly out of Logan Airport for a 2:30pm flight to Orlando, which was the last flight leaving that day due to the storm. The forecast was calling for winds of 70 mph to start in Orlando after 8pm that night. With the Hopedale Administration and the Chaperones leading the helm and working with Suburban Travel and Jet Blue, the decision was made on Thursday morning that the trip would go on. They were due to arrive in Orlando around 6pm which would give them plenty of time to get to the hotel prior to the storm arriving.
For the students, this was the best news ever and very exciting! For the parents, not so much! Many were very worried about sending their children into a hurricane! However, Principal Atherton, Ms. Urmston and Ms. St. Martin did a great job emailing the parents consistently with updates. Also, with today’s technology, most parents were hearing from their children as to the situation throughout the duration of the flight. Everyone was able to breathe when they arrived safely that evening.
Because of the potential rain and wind, Disney closed on Friday. The students made the best of it and spent the day at the resort and luckily since the winds were not what were originally expected, they were able to go to Disney Springs late in the afternoon. When asked how the trip was, Mr. Mancone, one of the chaperones, said, “I am one tired chaperon, but it was a great trip!” “We definitely did not mind that we only had about 40 mph winds and some rain in Orlando, especially considering how awful Hurricane Matthew was to the coast of Florida and to residents of Haiti and other Caribbean islands.”
On Saturday and Sunday the class spent two very long days at the Disney Parks making up for lost time! “I know the students had a great time exploring the parks and getting to spend time with their friends,” said Mancone. “Some of the best moments (outside of Splash Mountain, which is the best ride) were the little moments we got to spend joking around with the students. They were a great bunch and I hope it’s an experience they remember for a long time. “
Katie Koller, one of the students from the class of 2017 said, “The most amazing part of the trip was when my best friends, who were not able to come on the trip because of football commitments, showed up Saturday night and spent one full day at the parks with us!” One of my favorite memories was bonding with and getting to spend time with classmates that I wasn’t able to spend much time with before the trip.”
Anastasiya Borodenko, also a student from the class of 2017 said, “I think everyone had a fantastic time in Disney, despite missing a day of park adventures to the storm. It was really nice to have a break from the stresses of school and applying to colleges.” “My favorite part of the trip was bonding with everyone in the class and riding Space Mountain (several times in a row). The chaperones were fantastic and the entire trip was a success in my eyes.”