VAN VLECK, Texas – Students at Van Vleck Elementary School used the national anthem Tuesday morning to keep calm as a tornado tore through the southeast Texas town.
The EF-1 tornado ripped apart buildings and turned over mobile homes in the Matagorda County town of about 2,000 people. Six people were injured.
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After the storm, a student teacher at the school posted a video on her Facebook page showing students and staff huddled in darkened hallways as they waited for the twister to pass.
That act is standard practice during a tornado warning for any school. What’s not so standard is that the kindergartners broke out into song during the height of the storm.
“Their little voices lit up the dark with the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’” Tammie Kennedy said in her post. “They were brave, patient and amazing. And they were covered with a shield of teachers during the tornado.”
The video quickly spread, being watched nearly 4,000 times by Wednesday afternoon.
Kennedy said the staff were using snacks, reading books and singing songs to keep the children distracted from the dangers outside.
“The songs helped the best, so they couldn’t hear the sirens and sounds from the tornado,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said the cyclone touched down across the street from school. No one at the school was hurt.
“These were kindergartners,” Kenndy said. “They were so brave.”
The Van Vleck tornado was one of six twisters that touched down Tuesday across southeast Texas.