On Nov. 10 and 11, veterans, their families and community members were invited to celebrate Veterans Day with students and staff of the high school and middle school with a special assembly that included recognizing veterans in attendance and honoring those who have passed.
Additionally, Maj. Nathan Burr (Retired), Minnesota Army National Guard, made his annual visit to Cedar Creek Elementary School. A Field of Flags was placed outside St. Francis Elementary School. And at East Bethel Elementary School, students produced a Veterans Day mural.
Appreciation events: The events at the high school (Nov. 10) and the middle school (Nov. 11) provided a learning opportunity for students to understand why Veterans Day is important, what makes a good leader and some military history of Minnesota. The guest speaker at the high school was CMSGT Richard A. Lien, Jr., retired Air Force, and at the middle school, Maj. Nathan Burr (Retired) was the featured speaker.
Veterans in attendance were given a coloring and special thank you message from Cedar Creek Elementary School students.
Cedar Creek Elementary visit: Burr met with each grade level individually to talk about some of his mementos from overseas deployments, why he carried a tri-fold American Flag with him during duty and how serving in the military relates to CCES’ core values of being respectful, responsible and safe.
St. Francis Elementary Field of Flags: Kelly Stewart, STEM Specialist at St. Francis Elementary School organized a Field of Flags fundraiser through DAV and collected $815 to place about 70 flags outside the building on Veterans Day. Each flag earned by the donations represents a veteran and serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made in service to our country.
“Every day we work so hard to build community in our schools. We talk about kindness, thinking of others, and just generally caring for one another,” Stewart said. “Our teachers spend time teaching the kids about Veterans Day and what it represents. Field of Flags is a great way to tie ‘service to others’ with something actionable that we can do to give back to our Veterans and show our support.”
Stewart hopes to inspire SFES students, families, and the community to make this into a growing event each year with the ultimate goal of 1,000 flags along Highway 47 to show Veterans support.
DAV's Field of Flags empowers communities to set up fields of American flags, all to honor local veterans and raise critical funds to support ill and injured heroes.
East Bethel Elementary Mural: Honoring our veterans through art! East Bethel Elementary students collaborated on an amazing Veterans Day mural across all grade levels. Younger students practiced cutting, gluing, and 3D paper-building to create symbolic remembrance poppies. Upper grades studied natural textures and applied the element of value to craft detailed feathers, coming together to form a magnificent bald eagle. Many students also chose to write the names of veterans they would like to honor, such as family members. Some students took on the aspirational challenge of learning Kirigami to fold and cut 3D paper stars.
Here are some of the essential questions students studied through this collaborative mural project:
How do visual artists use symbols such as the red poppy and the bald eagle to communicate honor, remembrance, and community values?
How does controlling studio tools and techniques—such as cutting with scissors, pencil pressure, line of symmetry, and paper folding—enhance visual representation?
In what ways does individual artistic contribution build a collaborative community artwork?
We are so proud of our young artists and their meaningful tribute to those who served! Special thanks to Elizabeth Szymczak, EBES Art Specialist, for providing this incredible experience for our students. The next stop for the mural is to be placed at the American Legion for all visitors to see.
Thank you to all the veterans!