Veterans Day in our Schools

by Lynn K. McMullin

Our school-based commemoration of our local veterans is now a decade-long tradition, and each year our celebrations become more meaningful.  In 2005, the Board of Education made the conscious decision that Canton would hold school on Veteran’s Day, rather than taking the day off. Board members, administrators, and teachers recognized that lessons about patriotism and what it means to serve your country would mean more if the kids were in school rather than at the mall or watching television.

However, some of our students had begun recognizing veterans five years earlier through efforts such as Veterans Voices and the Veteran’s Day Breakfast. Veterans Voices was a research and writing project in which high school students interviewed a local veteran, wrote a transcript of the interview, and then crafted a historical-fiction story especially for the veteran. The stories were read and presented during a special evening event. The interviews, stories, and pictures from this project can be found on our webpage near the bottom of the left menu, under “Canton.” By clicking this link, you can read the stories told by 50 local veterans. Sadly, some of these celebrated veterans are no longer with us. We’ve lost, for example, WWII veteran Sam Humphrey, who worked with two of our Canton students over the years; Robert Gillespie, who trained pilots during WWII, and my own father, Robert Ellershaw, a Navy electrician, who had never before spoken about the war.

Shortly after participating in Veterans Voices, two high school students Abby Daley and Sarah Miner, with the assistance of then-Assistant Principal Jordan Grossman, held the first Vetrean's Day Breakfast on a Saturday morning in early November 2000. Even the organizers of this event were amazed by the large turnout and the warmth and appreciation coming from the veterans they were trying to appreciate.

Now, that spirit, which bridged two generations, lives on in new projects. For the past four years, the Middle School students have reached out to men and women currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The students go to a website called www.anysoldier.com, where they can read about the needs of a wide range of military groups. There a representative of the group tells viewers who they are and what they need. The vast majority of our servicemen and women ask for Chapstick, suntan lotion, throat lozenges, personal hygiene items, socks, reading material, snacks – the things we take for granted in our everyday lives. They also want Beanie Babies, which they keep in their pockets and give to children they meet. Mostly, however, they want mail from people at home. If your family would like to help, visit the website and click on the “Tango Mike” video to get started.

This year, the high school’s video production class was inspired to write and produce a video honors veterans called “Why Veteran’s Day.” The video will be featured at the high school assembly at 9:15 on the 11th. All three PTO’s are volunteering breakfast or lunch for our guests and their families, and the schools’ bands and choruses are learning songs of tribute. It is a heart-tugging sight to hear the Middle School band playing each of the service anthems one-by-one and the veterans in the audience standing when they hear the theme of their branch.

Each school celebrates Veteran’s Day in its own age-appropriate way. The ceremonies are detailed below. Feel free to join us.

Cherry Brook Primary School

The PTO will host a luncheon from 1:15 – 2:00 p.m. for veterans and their guests. Lunch will be followed by a half-hour assembly in the gym in which students will sing songs and read poems. Then, from 2:30 – 3:15, the veterans will visit the classrooms of the children who invited them, where they can choose between reading a specially selected book provided by the teacher… or, telling a story of their own choice. Currently, fifteen veterans are expected, but any interested veteran is welcome. If you would like to participate at CBPS, please call Tina McCarthy at 693-7721.

Canton Intermediate School

The students and staff at Canton Intermediate School are looking forward to welcoming and honoring local veterans at the annual Veterans Day Celebration from 8:00 – 10:50 a.m. Before the event, students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 will have discussed what it means to be a veteran, why we celebrate Veterans’ Day, and why it is important for us to honor our veterans each year. Students have invited family members and friends who have served in the armed forces to participate in the celebration. Special vocal and instrumental music is being prepared, and some students will read speeches they have written for the occasion. In addition, the PTO is planning a breakfast reception for veterans, families, and student ambassadors. Veterans who would like to participate may sign up by calling the CIS office at 693-7717 by Monday, November 9.

Canton Middle School

The event will begin at 8:00 a.m. with an hour-long assembly of music and speakers. Two students are scheduled to speak about the history of Veterans Day and service to country, and both the band and the chorus have prepared patriotic and commemorative pieces for the assembly. Veterans may also speak to the whole assembly when they are introduced. On the stage, the boxes of supplies being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan will be displayed. Each advisory sponsored a group from anysoldier.com and tried to meet the needs of that group. A PTO breakfast will follow immediately, and then veterans are invited to attend any of the classrooms to speak and answer questions. Please call Nan Bartlett at 693-7712, if you would like to join the festivities

Canton High School

The Canton High School will hold a full assembly beginning at 9:15 a.m. in the auditorium. The assembly will begin with the pledge and a moment of silence. The student choral group, the B Sharps, will perform; and students will get their first glimpse of the video production class’s video titled “Why Veteran’s Day?”

Veterans will then be invited to attend specific social studies classes, such as World in Transition, U.S. History, or Government classes. Veterans are asked to call the school at 693-7707 if they would like to participate.