The backstop sits twisted on an unused baseball field, the gym roof remains ripped and shredded.
But Holy Cross School, a college preparatory for boys in grades five through 12 in St. Bernard Parish, survived.
They are moving downtown next year because the surrounding neighborhoods did not.
Housed in two dozen trailers, they?ve lost 40 percent of their 832-member student body. Families aren?t returning to the area.
Wednesday afternoon, the University of Maryland marching unit, nearby in the Upper Ninth Ward building houses this week with Habitat for Humanity, headed to Holy Cross for a 30-minute outdoor concert.
Check out Chris Ammann’s photo blog of the entire trip.
“Music, drama, art and athletics are not considered extracurricular activities here; they are part of the curriculum,” said headmaster Charles DiGrange. “Music is extremely important for our kids.”
Coincidentally, Holy Cross art teacher Lorraine Summers, graduated from Severna Park High School in Anne Arundel County in 1971 and attended the University of Maryland.
She caught up with band director Richmond Sparks after the Terrapins? parade earlier this week and asked if the band could play for the boys.
“I teach high school and the seniors lost everything they had made down through the years,” Summers said. “We?re delighted they?re here, this is a treat.”
Founded in 1879, the school flooded with 7 feet of water after the Canal Street levee broke 17 months ago from Hurricane Katrina. After evacuating, they held classes last fall in Baton Rouge. They came back last spring and shared a building with the Cabrini all-girls Catholic school, holding evening classes.
“It looks like it used to be a beautiful school,” said Ala Kreczko, a tenor sax , who graduated from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg.
“It?s awesome to be here,” said clarinetist Lauren Land, a graduate of Catonsville High School in Baltimore County. “Hopefully we will inspire everyone to play. I want everyone to be in band.”
The college students played a swing medley, including, “Take the A Train?” and “Sing, Sing, Sing” and closed, of course, with “When the Saints Come Marching In.”
“They were amazing ? the trumpets got so high,” said Nolan Allen, a senior trumpet player at Holy Cross. “Seriously, this is the most fun I?ve had in a while.”
