Students and community members gathered today for a Veterans Day luncheon and presentation in the auditorium.
The lunch portion of the event was a new addition this year, and there was a clear purpose behind it. Middle School Principal Mrs. Jenn Barrett said, “In past years, we have had veterans come to the event, but students never had a chance to connect with them directly. By adding lunch, students were able to invite veterans who were part of their families, and those families were able to sit together and enjoy a meal while having meaningful conversations.”
In addition to the meal, which Texas Roadhouse donated to honor the veterans, the VBMS LEADS group made up of students in grades 6-8 led the planning and execution of the entire event.
Sixth grader Mason Dosch, a LEADS member, said he “enjoyed setting up the decorations and flags because they turned out well.” Decorations included a “chain” American flag where elementary students wrote messages to the veterans on each of the paper links.
High school students also played a role in the event, teaming with middle school students to write personal notes that were placed at all of the veterans’ placesettings. Finally, the seventh graders made patriotic posters for the event last week when they were at Camp Nuhop, and those were displayed in the auditorium.
At the presentation following lunch, the sixth graders led the audience in saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Attendees also watched videos about Honor Flight, the history of Veterans Day, and veterans who are connected to our community. Two veterans, Mr. Andy Sterling and Mr. Stan Heitkamp, took the podium to share their reflections on Veterans Day with students.
The presentation concluded with a moment of reflection as 2021 VB graduate Skylar Deerwester played “Taps” on the trumpet.
We are proud of the hard work our students did to honor our veterans, and we appreciate the sacrifices our veterans made for our country.
