Saying 'thank you'

It has long been said that the best thing you can do on Veterans Day is to thank a veteran for their service. A few groups of Nodaway Valley students are taking the lead to make sure that happens again this year at the area schools.

As they have for many years, students in the Talented and Gifted (TAG) program at Nodaway Valley have been given the task of preparing for and leading the Veterans Day programs at the elementary school and middle school. The high school program is carried out by the student council.

At the elementary level, fourth-graders are the ones in charge of Veterans Day. At the middle school, it is the seventh-graders.

One day last week, a group of seventh-graders were hard at work preparing their lines for their program.

Area veterans are encouraged to attend school Veterans Day programs. The Nodaway Valley Elementary School has a program scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11. The high school program follows at 10:30 a.m. and the middle school’s is at 2:15 p.m.

Orient-Macksburg has scheduled a Veterans Day program for 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8. Williamson American Legion Post 719 takes veterans to lunch at The Dugout Cafe after Orient-Macksburg’s program.

Nodaway Valley seventh-graders use the same script year in and year out for their program, but that doesn’t mean they don’t take the time to learn about the various aspects of Veterans Day.

Seventh-graders involved in the program are Anna Herrick, Laila Hall, Marcella Hubenka, Max Antisdel, Arik Honnold, Myles Fisher, Truman Livingston and Kalvin Johnson. Livingston and Johnson were absent at the time of the newspaper interview.

One of the things the kids learn is the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, as they can sometimes be confused for each other.

“Veterans Day is serving all the soldiers who have served in the military,” Fisher said. “Memorial Day is honoring all the veterans we’ve lost.”

Another vital piece of information covered in the Veterans Day program are the branches of the military. Branches listed are Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard. When the group was asked what they have learned thus far in preparing for Veterans Day, Hall commented that she had not realized Space Force is a branch of the military.

Antisdel said he learned Veterans Day was once called Armistice Day. Established in 1938, Armistice Day was created to remember the armistice — or agreement — that was signed Nov. 11, 1918 to mark the end of World War I.

Herrick, a flutist, and Hall, clarinetist, were two who spoke up and said they will be playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the middle school Veterans Day program. They’ve been told to practice for it intently as it is a very important song to “get right.”

Many of the seventh-graders also said there’s an impression that has been given that it is also important to take their speaking parts very seriously.

At all three Nodaway Valley programs, local veterans will present the colors. Tammie Cass, another middle school teacher at Nodaway Valley, sent invitations to local veterans to attend. Her father-in-law, Dean Cass, is usually a color guard member.

Middle school social studies teacher Sam Grubisich will give a slideshow presentation during the middle school program. Similar components are in the elementary and high school programs.

Second-year TAG instructor Gena Ward said the Veterans Day programs are just a sliver of what her students to do throughout the school year. Later in the year, they’ll have a chance to take part in either National History Day or the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa in the spring. This fall, eighth-graders will participate in mock trial.

“For history day or the science fair, they have to do research and put together a presentation of some sort, whether it is an exhibit or performance. The full planning process, research and putting together those sources [is beneficial] because we have to decide if they’re primary sources or secondary sources,” Ward said. “They also have to talk in front of judges, which works on their public speaking skills and a lot of general life skills they need to learn.”

Ward said she is very proud of the progress all her students are making.

“These kids definitely work hard, for sure,” Ward said. “I throw it at them and they go with the flow.”