On Thursday May 23, 2024, Berlin Elementary second graders in Mrs. Kneer, Mrs. Healy, Mrs. Ruebel, and Mrs. Schumaker’s classes learned about Memorial Day. Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States, is a day for honoring the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.
The importance of the American Flag and the significance of poppies on Memorial Day were discussed and the students took part in a flag raising, lowering and folding ceremony on the BES front lawn. The ceremony was led by BES Custodian Mrs. Houle, who is tasked with raising and lowering the flag each school day at BES and BCSD’s School Resource Officer Deputy Dalessio.
The National Moment of Remembrance, which was a resolution passed in December 2000 asks that at 3 p.m. local time, all Americans “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps'”. BES Band teacher and trumpet player Mrs. Baker performed “Taps” on her trumpet for the students during their flag ceremony.
After the flag ceremony students rotated between three activities. With Mrs. Kneer they learned about the branches of the Armed Forces: Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard, Army, and Space Force. In Mrs. Healy’s classroom the students learned about the significance of the poppy flower on Memorial Day through a read aloud of The Poppy Lady by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh. The students then made their own poppy’s with Mrs. Healy. In Mrs. Ruebel and Mrs. Schumaker’s classroom students wrote about what and why they remember on Memorial Day.
This was a very impactful day to the students and they looked forward to going home to share why they have no school on Memorial Day; a day to Honor and Remember our Heroes.
Thank you to Mrs. Houle, Mrs. R Baker, Deputy Dalessio, Mrs. Witbeck and all who were involved with supporting the second grade team with the day’s lesson. -Mrs. Kneer, Mrs. Healy, Mrs. Ruebel, and Mrs. Schumaker