Butler County schools honor veterans
School districts across the county are using Veterans Day, and the days around it, as a chance to honor veterans while giving students a chance to interact with and learn from them.
School districts across Butler County planned events and initiatives to honor the county’s veterans in the days surrounding Tuesday, Nov. 11, including assemblies, fundraisers and presentations from veterans to students.
Knoch Middle School is doing its part to honor the county’s veterans by organizing a “Field of Flags” fundraiser for the local branch of Disabled American Veterans. The middle school’s student council raised $850 for the DAV and will place at least 72 miniature American flags along the front lawn of the school.
The organizer of the flag drive is Tanya Zupanchick, a school nurse and student council adviser who is also a veteran herself. She served in the U.S. Army between 1994 and 1998 and was stationed in San Antonio, Texas.
“It was something that I've seen done in other schools,” Zupanchick said. “So I brought it to (the student council’s) attention. They voted on it and it was a 100% vote that they wanted to raise money for the DAV.”
Butler Intermediate High School hosted a pair of presentations from local veterans on Monday morning, Nov. 10, in its auditorium.
According to history teacher Breit Cochran, veteran presentations have been a Veterans Day tradition at the intermediate high school for about a decade.
“We’ve been doing this just to get the students in the frame of mind for Veterans Day so they can honor the veterans that they know in their lives,” Cochran said.
The first presentation, for seventh and eighth graders, was led by Chris Heinack, who served aboard the USS America aircraft carrier during Operation Desert Storm. He, along with a group of other local veterans, taught students about the proper procedure for folding an American flag, as well as the “missing man” table ceremony for prisoners of war.
“The American flag is the icon that most Americans care the most about, but know the least about,” Heinack said. “The American flag is the first national flag on the planet to represent the people. Most other flags represent monarchs and kings.”
Another presentation, for the school’s sixth-graders, centered around the history of Veterans Day itself.
Heinack says he’s been part of Veterans Day presentations at Butler Area School District for about 15 years and the students are appreciative every year of what he has to say.
“If you just looked behind you, you could see the commotion and all the students were attentive to what we had to say,” Heinack said.
Mars Area elementary and middle schools have each been assembling a Veterans Day “Wall of Honor,” consisting of photos of family members of students who have served in the military. Students were encouraged to send in photographs for the wall by the end of October.
Also, on Friday, Nov. 7, Mars Area Centennial School welcomed Army logistics officer Lt. Col. Lukas Toth to speak to sixth-graders about his military experience and the importance of Veterans Day.
The Seneca Valley School District will recognize 50 local veterans with a special breakfast at Ehrman Crest Middle School at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The breakfast will include a performance of The Star-Spangled Banner by the middle school band, poem and handwritten letter readings by students, and performances by the school orchestra and choir.
The event is not open to the public.
Schools at the Slippery Rock Area School District have held a variety of Veterans Day-related activities. Students from the middle school’s social studies department planted miniature American flags in the school’s front lawn, while students at Moraine Elementary School made Christmas cards for veterans at the Southwestern Veterans Center in Pittsburgh.
Additionally, the high school’s “Marching Rockets” marching band was scheduled to participate in the Veterans Day parade in Butler on Tuesday.
Last week, Karns City Area School District had special assemblies at both its elementary school, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, and its high school, on Thursday, Nov. 6, to recognize a group of local veterans.
“At the elementary, 13 veterans were given homemade quilts to honor their service,” said district superintendent Eric Ritzert. “Some veterans attend both school assemblies. We invite all veterans from the community to both schools, but they often only attend the school where a family member is enrolled.”
Schools in the Freeport Area School District will be taking the opportunity to honor the nation’s veterans on the day itself.
“We've always been open for Veterans Day because we choose to have the kids in the schools to celebrate Veterans Day through various lessons and celebrations,” said district superintendent Ian Magness. “One really great thing that we do at the high school is we actually invite veterans in to talk to our students in their classrooms and do presentations and we also have them in for a luncheon.”
One of those veterans — John Haven — happens to serve on the Freeport school board. Haven served a six-year term in the armed forces in the late 1960s and early 70s, which included service in Vietnam.
“This district has been doing this for years, and it's really a wonderful celebration of their service,” Magness said.”
