Veterans Day at RAE
When I originally came to RAE, I noticed how loving and
caring the people were. It was a vision
of mine to build community between the children, staff and parents. I became the Social Studies Representative at
RAE and saw that Veterans Day was not being celebrated. This bothered me as I have family that were
enlisted in the Armed Forces and saw how our society does not appreciate the
sacrifices they made as much as they used to.
This was the perfect way to building community, while teaching to honor,
respect and celebrate the true heroes in America. I asked the new principal at that time,
Kristen Harper, if I could organize a Veterans Day celebration and the tradition
was born.
The first Veterans Day Celebration was held in November of
2009. The Social Studies committee planned
for each grade level to have a part in the celebration in order to give them
ownership and feel as if they were personally involved. This way we could teach about patriotism and
honoring the people that sacrificed their lives for our freedom. I wanted to make this real to the students
and figured what better way than to have them bring in pictures of family
members that served, or are serving in the Armed Forces. Wall
of Honor arrived and the pride in students’ faces as they saw their relatives’
pictures was priceless. This year we had
two actual former StingRAEs enlisted into the Armed Forces. It then became tradition for me to scan all
the pictures and create a video presentation of the Veterans that were special
to RAE.
The committee also decided to have an actual celebration
honoring some veterans and have the students sing the National Anthem and Grand
Ole Flag. Mrs. Nemec decided that the
fourth grade students would learn both of the songs to sing at the
assemblies. After that year, The
StingRAE Choir was created and the Veterans Day program became their first
performance of the year. They were
spectacular.
The committee also decided to hold an Essay contest, but
figured the 5th grade students would be the best contestants as they
also study American History, and understand the sacrifice more than the younger
children. The topics to choose from
were, “What does freedom mean to me? or
What is a Veteran?” The essayists were chosen and then allowed to read their
essays at the assembly. Some of those
essays brought tears to many people in the audience.
Each year our celebration has grown and changed and I feel
so blessed to be able to see the faces of the Veterans as the children sing and
celebrate them. Some of the Veterans
have been coming for the past eight years, and I feel as if they are now
family. One Veteran even delayed his
vacation so that he could attend our celebration this year. Now, that is community and family!
Each year I wanted the PTA to help in this celebration and we
finally found a way to include this special group of parents. PTA decorated for the actual reception that was
held for the Veterans after each program.
What a beautiful sight!
I have seen an idea blossom into a full-fledged celebration
that has become one of the favorite assemblies for many. I thank my committee members for their hard
work and dedication to a worthy cause that makes our heroes feel appreciated
and honored. I know that this tradition
will be one that remains at RAE in the years to come. Thank you RAE family for a wonderful Veterans
Day Celebration!
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