Leadership students at Huntington Middle School are honoring local veterans in three different ways, and they are inviting the community to join them.
“They have been working so hard to bring honor to our local veterans,” said Katie Ahola, Huntington social studies, leadership, and AVID teacher. “It really makes me proud that these students get it.”
The student-led projects include a Veterans Rock campaign, sending thank you cards to local veterans, and putting the names of veterans related to Huntington students on red, white, and blue stars on the school’s front window.
Veterans Rock Campaign
Students decorated over 30 rocks with symbols representing Veterans Day (yellow ribbons, roses, American flags, etc.) on the top, and the hashtag #HMSVeteransRock on the bottom. The rocks are already placed out in the community for veterans and their families to find.
“I hope we end up getting more kids to want to know more about Veterans Day when they find these rocks, and that they will respect local veterans and say thank you to them,” said Chase Carter, 7th grader.
The community is invited to join in this public acknowledgment by taking a picture of a found rock and posting it on social media with the hashtag along with their own words of thanks.
Thank You Cards
Students designed a school-wide thank you project for the days leading up to Veterans Day. Next week, every student at Huntington Middle School will make a card thanking a veteran for his or her service. These cards will then be shared with local veteran organizations.
Red, White, and Blue Family Window Display
Students asked Huntington families to share the names of veterans in their family, along with branch served in, number of years served, and relation to a Huntington student. A team of students is writing this information on red, white, and blue stars, then adding those stars to a display in the school’s front windows. There are 77 (and counting) stars adorning the front windows so far.
“America’s veterans have done everything asked of them in their mission to serve our country and it is never too late to give them a hero’s welcome home,” said Izzy Moe, 8th grader.