“Fourth graders need to know about service, and I think this is a great service project in our school.”
That statement was made by Barb Rush, who teaches 4th grade at Roncalli Elementary School in Manitowoc.
Her students recently completed writing thank you cards to veterans as part of a Social Studies project for her 3-classrooms. She told SeehaferNews.com that she put together the project because “Because I felt they needed to be aware of the sacrifices veterans made for our freedom.”
Normally, Mrs. Rush says they invite former service members to attend a Veterans Day program at St. Francis of Assisi Church, where the students sing songs of thanks, recite the pledge of allegiance and shake the hands of veterans. However, that was canceled due to COVID-19.
So, in the church bulletin and by email area families were asked if they knew of any veterans who would appreciate a letter thanking them. The response was great as over 100-letters were sent out.
“The majority of the letters went to Manitowoc County, but others went to California, Minnesota, Georgia, and Iowa,” Rush explained. “In some of the letters, the veterans would tell us about their branch of service, where they served, and their rank.”
Mrs. Rush read us a sample of the students’ letters. “’ We have been learning about the bravery of veterans to keep our country free. We owe you…’ and then they have to put a word in there. Some of them said, ‘We owe you our freedom. We owe you our love. We owe you everything. We owe you big time. We owe you a day off. We owe you our lives.’”
The students learned about military history & tradition, before writing out the cards. “They were introduced to videos about the military service,” she explained. “We talked about Arlington National Cemetery, we talked about the playing of TAPS, we talked about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the changing of the guard, and we listened to the songs of each branch of the military.”
And, according to Rush, the veterans are so thankful, too. She said, “We already are receiving emails back from some of the veterans saying thank you, and then they have a special thank you for the person who signed their name. We only listed their first names, but already they are saying thank you to them.”
Mrs. Rush has a special connection to this project as her father served in the Navy during World War II, her brother was in the Air Force, several of her nephews enlisted in the Army after 9-11, and last year, her grandson joined the Army.
She added, “I know how important it is to honor all these people who’ve given sacrifices for our country.”
