A show of gratitude: Students honor veterans
PALMDALE — The Palmdale Learning Plaza’s student-led Veterans Day program featured thanks, music and dance performances from the youngsters, as well as a question-and-answer period with three veterans who were guests at the ceremony.
More than 850 students representing the school’s entire kindergarten through eighthgrade classes, including the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program, filled the gymnasium, on Thursday. It was decorated with United States flags, red, white and blue balloons and banners for the honored guests.
The guests included US Army veterans Ralph Velador, a Palmdale School District trustee; district teacher Andrew Ramirez; Michael Reilly, a technical sergeant with the US Air Force who is now with the California Air National Guard; and US Navy veteran Melvin Summers Jr.
Palmdale Learning Plaza’s new S2S Club, or Student 2 Student, a military child education coalition initiative, and the new Builders Club organized the event, working together to secure the guest list. The club was created to help military families whose students transitioned into the school.
S2S members, eighth-graders and twin sisters Ani Chizmichyan and Anita Chizmichyan led the question-and-answer session.
“What are some things you miss about being in the service?” Anita Chizmichyan said. “What are some you are glad to have left behind?”
Ramirez said every experience he’s had in the military, he treasures and values because it helped him learn something.
He was a staff sergeant who served, from 1992 to 2000. He served in Louisiana, Colorado and Germany, while also deployed to Kuwait and Macedonia.
“Even the bad experiences, you don’t want to leave those behind because you learn from those,” Ramirez said.
Reilly agreed. He graduated from high school, in 2001. Four months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he joined the Air Force. He served as a fuels specialist and was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, but also in Korea, Italy, Iraq and Washington.
“I met a lot of people from all walks of life here in the United States even all over the world,” Reilly said. “That experience alone is something I cherish.”
Summers agreed with Ramirez and Reilly. He joined the Navy, in 1981. He served as a Seabee, construction mechanic in Iceland, Midway island, Puerto Rico and Central America.
“The thing I miss the most is the camaraderie,” he said. “You meet a lot of great people. I have friends still, to this day.”
S2S eighth-graders Samantha Lopez, Maleah Hart and Gabriella Lopez Vivas presented flower bouquets and certificates to the veterans.
Eighth-grader Esmeralda Huerta selected questions from the audience. Velador had to leave the assembly early and missed the Q&A.
The school’s Girls Build LA team, also known PLP Girls Gen, sponsored a school-wide Veterans Day art contest. The artwork was on display in the gymnasium for all classes to see.
The Girls Build LA and S2S clubs are sponsored by teacher/advisor Heather Lighston.
Students from PLP’s Builder’s Club, under the direction of their teacher/advisor Ana Weldon, presented a couple of guest Blue Star mothers with school-wide donations of care packages for deployed
military members.
The Knight High School Air Force Junior ROTC color guard presented the flag. The Palmdale Learning Plaza choir and select fifth-grade students sang and signed the “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Eighth-grade band members performed several patriotic songs under the direction of music teacher Jennifer Gilreath.
“This morning and this
weekend, it is a privilege to say ‘thank you’ to all our American veterans,” Principal Susan Summers said in her opening remarks. “It is our honor to let them know how much we appreciate their sacrifice, their courage and their service.”
Four students — sixth-grader Francisco Farias, seventh-graders Ilijah Walker and Paris Torsak and eighth-grader Samantha Lopez — read brief thank you speeches.
“Dear veterans, thank you for your hard work and dedication,” Torsak said, adding she knows it comes with a lot of sacrifices. “I am sincerely grateful for your service. I also want to thank the families of those who have served because of the support they have shown. Your service has made it possible for the country that we have, today.”
Fourth-grader Jewel Daniels performed a dance — “A Letter From Home” — under the direction of LAITY co-founder Delayna Goins, who also portrayed a servicewoman that was hugged at the end of the performance.