“This is the time we hear ‘thank you for your sacrifice’ and ‘thank you for your commitment to servicing the United States of America.’ It's a time where you dive a little deeper and it means a lot to vets,” said veteran Kevin Childs.
Childs graduated from Overland High School in 2004 and worked for Cherry Creek Schools for 13 years before serving in the Colorado Army National Guard as an Ammunition Specialist. Childs returned to Ponderosa Elementary celebrate CCSD’s annual Veterans Week.
Each November, Cherry Creek School District celebrates Veterans Week to honor the sacrifice and service of veterans across the nation. Every school throughout the district celebrates with a unique event to recognize the veterans and servicemen in our community.
This year, the fifth-grade students at Ponderosa Elementary honored our veterans by writing biographies for
fallen soldiers who did not yet have a biography. The students read their research as a tribute to each soldier in a school-wide ceremony.
Several schools across the district held ceremonies where they sang songs, read poems, and heard stories of sacrifice and bravery told by veterans.
Polton Elementary School student Avery Gentry, whose father served in the Army, read a poem that she wrote aloud for her peers in a ceremony:
“Oh Veteran
When that freedom bell rings
I think of the sacrifices
You've been through
I am so grateful for your courage
Thank you Veteran for making it here
Today
For truly loving this country
And today I thank you for
Your service
You lit a spark in my little heart
Thank you oh so wonderful Veteran
And Happy Veterans Day!’
Many schools host breakfast, luncheons, and parades throughout the school halls and surrounding neighborhoods. These events and ceremonies offer our students the opportunity to meet the servicemen and veterans in our community and learn their incredible stories.
“It wasn't until I was a colonel that I realized I needed to mentor other women, especially to get them to stay in the service,” Sally Ann Eaves said at Summit Elementary.
Eaves was the only female General in the Army reserves when she served. She shared advice to young women who are interested in entering the service, “it’s a great experience, and you have to remember to respect yourself. Don’t let anyone push you around.”
James Worsham, Vietnam-era Air Force veteran, shared at Polton Elementary, “the people who were serving, served because they were serving their country. They didn't get to decide where they went or if they went. When they got home, many people blamed them for the war and it took quite a while before that really turned around and people recognized, veterans do deserve to be honored because they are serving their country.”
Worsham’s advice to young people is, “if they're not happy with leaders' decisions, then you should vote. That’s your opportunity to make a difference whether you serve or not.”
Celebrations across the district included veterans from all eras. The Grand Marshall in the Altitude Elementary parade was World War II veteran Eugene Meyer. The day of the parade was also Meyer’s 97thbirthday.
Altitude Assistant Principal Emily Kimpton said, “It was so amazing to watch him with the kids. This was the first parade he’s been a part of. To make it to 97 and never have been a part of a Veteran’s Day parade, it was really neat to show him how much we really do appreciate and treasure our veterans and service members. Giving him the opportunity to feel that appreciation was important to us, and I think was important to him.”
