As Officer Dan McConnell played "God Bless America" on the bagpipes during Cedar Hill's Veterans Day Assembly, halfway through the song, a few students quietly started singing with more joining in.
On Wednesday, Cedar Hill Elementary hosted its annual Veterans program. Organized by the fifth grade Character Education (CE) Committee with guidance from Teacher Cathy Lundquist, this year's celebration had a record number of 31 veterans attend.
Check out Patch's photo gallery of the event and the a list of the veterans in this article.
Patch interviewed two CE members, Luke Becker and Emily Spellman. Check out the video above to see their interviews, what Principal Michael Raj had to say and some of the music from the assembly.
“I think it’s absolutely amazing that they put on this show and this effort,” Ken Hanzl. “I was in Vietnam and it wasn’t a good time at home in terms of support. This is the first time that I’ve ever been recognized and thanked for my service. It was here in this school … I will never forget this. I’ve got my brother-in-law, who also served in Vietnam. I brought him here as well.”
“We’re very pleased that Dr. Raj, the staff and the students are involved in this kind of effort,” said Superintendent Paul Fried. “This is an annual event here and they make the veterans feel … honored and I’m certainly proud of our school district that we go out of our way to do this for our veterans.”
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“I was really proud to see the children recognizing the contributions of us veterans,” said veteran Barry Karben.
Cedar Hill students then lined the hallways as veterans made their way to the gym for the assembly. The CE members said a poem and read off the names of the veterans. Principal Michael Raj gave some comments as well.Teacher Trudy Coppola's father was one of the veterans honored at this ceremony.
"It feels wonderful that, not only your own family, but the whole community and the school have come out to show respect by having this assembly and luncheon," she said. "Parents and students are involved in every level. It's great and makes you feel good and proud."
Here's a look at the musical lineup during the assembly:
- McConnell was the bagpiper
- Ken Odgers performed military Taps
- The entire student body sang "God Bless America"
- The student chorus sang "Thank You Soldiers" led by Teacher Joyce Janowicz.
- Grades K - 1 sang "This Land is Your Land"
- Grades 2 - 3 sand "You’re a Grand Old Flag"
- Grades 4 - 5 sang "America The Beautiful"
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