Area veterans invited to PIMS ceremony
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Current and former military personnel are invited to attend an honorary Veterans Day presentation next week at Presque Isle Middle School.
For the fifth consecutive year, seventh-grade teachers will host the event from noon-2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 in the school’s auditorium.
“We have incorporated several new items this year, in large part because of Chris Keegan, an Army veteran who attended last year’s program,” said social studies/English teacher Marianne Dyer. “Mr. Keegan offered some suggestions and ideas that we could add to further expand our program and we thought those were good ideas. In fact, we invited him to our planning meeting this year, so he is helping us coordinate and plan our event.”
To kick off the ceremony, the seventh-graders will lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a welcome given by Dyer. The PIMS band — under the direction of Pat Bragdon — will perform patriotic songs, and a heroes video will also be played. Kevin Sipe, social studies/English teacher, will then introduce veterans in attendance and provide an opportunity for them to speak to the students if they so choose. Allison Reed, social worker at the school, will share information about the American flag, as well as show students the proper way to fold the flag. A color guard will participate in this portion of the presentation as “Taps” will also be performed by members of the school band.
Dyer will then read “America’s White Table” by Margot Theis Raven, and Elaine Hendrickson, social studies/English teacher, will offer closing remarks and thank-yous. Following the formal presentation, students will return to their homerooms to work on poetry and participate in discussions. The veterans are encouraged to visit the classrooms, as well.
Organizers hope at least 50 area veterans will attend the program.
“We’re reaching out to a wider area this year,” Dyer said. “In the past, we invited family and friends of our students, but Mr. Keegan provided us with the names of various organizations like the Maine Veterans Home in Caribou, as well as local Legions and other organizations that we’ll be inviting. Everyone is welcome to attend.”
By working with Time Warner Cable’s “Take a Veteran to School Day” program, the local cable company will be contacting six veterans who will visit the classrooms following the ceremony to talk with the students.
“We’re guaranteed to have six veterans come into our classrooms to talk with the students,” Dyer said, “but we’re hoping many more will join us.”
Through Paul Kinney of Horace Mann, which has a program that helps teachers financially with special projects, students will hand out carnations to each veteran as they come into the ceremony.
“We’re grateful to Mr. Kinney and Horace Mann,” said Dyer. “That will be a wonderful touch.”
The idea for the Veterans Day ceremony, Dyer said, stems from her reading “America’s White Table” to her students seven years ago.
“I loved the book and organized a display and read it to my students, and you could hear a pin drop,” she said. “The poetry that we wrote afterward was from the heart and touching, so I met with our team and began planning an annual activity.
“We’re very proud of the program that we’re putting on. We’ve put a lot of thought and consideration into it, and we feel it has a tremendous impact on the way our kids view things,” said Dyer. “We want to instill in our students the need to honor and respect those who protect us. We want them to understand that it’s because of these people — who have defended our rights and freedoms — that we enjoy the quality of life that we have and that they have the right to sit at a desk and receive an education. Every year our hearts are encouraged to continue this celebration. I can’t imagine not continuing this because of the value it has for the students, the veterans and the teachers. It’s monumental.”
