JAY – High school seniors were scrambling Wednesday to find another place to take their last trip together as a class. They had put down a deposit on a Scotia Prince cruise for their Project Graduation trip in June, and most of them were going.
The cruise line canceled its 2005 season Wednesday, citing unsafe facilities in Portland because of toxic mold.
It is just another dilemma the class has had to deal with before they graduate. Seniors are scheduled to attend school on Saturdays, April 30, May 21 and June 4, to make up three of five days lost due to snowstorms. The superintendent has applied for a waiver for the other two days.
Kasey Simoneau, senior class president, said her mother woke her up at 6 a.m. Wednesday to inform her of the Scotia Prince’s news announcement.
Her first thought was, “What are we going to do?”
“It was a big thing because we had almost all the class going,” she said. “A huge portion.”
Simoneau said she had never been on a cruise and was looking forward to traveling to Nova Scotia.
The company called, Principal Peter Brown said, to advise the school of the trip cancellation and to inform class members that they would get their deposit back.
An emergency meeting was scheduled at Yvonne DeMillo’s house Wednesday night for class members and parents.
“We’re going to pick another trip,” Simoneau said, for Project Graduation.
She and other students were asking seniors where they wanted to go. Some ideas have been a trip to Boston, a trip to the Six Flags amusement park, and camping, she said.
“There’s not much we can do about it,” Simoneau said. “Everyone is being really good about it. Our class has gone through a lot. We have a very good class.”
The hours for school on the Saturdays will be from 9 a.m. to noon, Brown said.
A majority of the 85 seniors need to attend those special sessions in order for them to count as instructional days to meet the 170-day requirement.
Seniors have chosen the following sessions to attend on April 30: self-defense for females, credit and finance, team building and weight-lifting techniques for males.
During the May 21 session, session topics will be CareerCenter, college transition and Maine job opportunities. The last Saturday, the day before graduation, seniors will attend marching practice and work on a community project.
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