While trees were falling and power lines were breaking as the Sunshine Coast was being buffeted by high winds yesterday, a school field trip took an unexpected turn.
Monday morning, all 110 students from Madeira Park Elementary School along with staff and parent chaperones set out for Raven’s Cry Theatre to watch The WildRobot.
They got to the theatre just before 10 a.m. and were about 20 minutes into the movie when school principal Nicole Zilkie said they started getting messages that the school had no power and cellphone communication was also down.
With no way for the school to communicate with parents, Zilkie stepped into the lobby to make some calls and gather information.
“We were supposed to be heading home in about half an hour when we got the first message that the highway was totally closed, and the first information we had was that it was going to be anywhere from one to five hours before it was open,” she said, adding that they were originally scheduled to leave the theatre at 11:30 a.m. to get back to the school for lunch.
She said that Kevin [McGarry] from Raven’s Cry Theatre immediately stepped up and started proposing solutions.
“He's like, we can start another movie, we can play some trivia games on screen. He said we've got lots of options that we can put up and do for the kids,” Zilkie said. “And then his wife came and said, ‘Yes, whatever you guys need, we're just so happy to help, and however we can support, we're here for you.’”
On top of all this, the theatre offered to cancel its 7 p.m. show that evening if the school needed more time to stay.
With a place to stay solved, Zilkie said the “next big hurdle” was now they had 110 students who had no lunch because they were planning to be back at the school by then.
Looking at which stores still had power, Zilkie went over the McDonald’s to explain the situation.
“I spoke to the manager there, and she was also completely lovely, and I just explained to her that we had 110 students who didn't have food, and was there any way that they could help out,” Zilkie said. “And she said,’ Absolutely, we're more than happy to help whatever we can do.’”
School staff put in an order for 110 kids' meals which McDonald’s said they could have ready in 30 minutes, which Zilkie said was “astounding.”
“They put a total rush on it. It was all hands on deck. I watched, I went in, and they were all working on it, there was like, six or seven staff back there just trying to get the food out,” she said.
“I know it really messed with their lunchtime service like they were really backed up and put a lot of stress on the staff to try to get this huge extra order out on such short notice, but they did it, which we were so appreciative of,” Zilkie said.
The movie ended and the staff explained to the students they were stuck there and that lunch was on its way. Zilkie said the parent chaperones went over to the Independent Grocer and set up a snack table for the students while they waited for lunch.
With some students as young as four years old, Zilkie explained that just getting on a bus and going to a theatre is already a big day and that staff were careful to keep the messaging positive as major changes to what's expected can be confusing and upsetting.
“We just made sure that they knew that their parents were safe, and that their parents knew that they were safe and that we were in really good hands with the Raven’s Cry Theatre,” she said.
The students got to eat their lunch in the theatre seats and then began another movie until about 4 p.m. when they said they received word the road was open.
The group ultimately arrived back at Madeira Park Elementary shortly after 5 p.m., what Zilkie called a “long, tiring day for those little guys.”
She said that while it could have been a hard, stressful day for everybody involved if not for the support they had from the community.
Zilkie said it's an “easy, gentle day,” at the school today and said they had quite a few students who she thinks were “just exhausted after all the excitement yesterday and have chosen to stay home.”
Walking through the halls today, Zilkie said, “I've had multiple kids come up to me and say they'll never forget it, like it turned into a real adventure … what could have been a major inconvenience and a huge worry for these little guys turned into something really fun and exciting, just because of all the support we received from the community.”
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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