Paxton Center School Celebrates Veterans

• Eighth grade students at Paxton Center School recognized Veterans Day on a personal level during a moving program on November 9th before local veterans, parents and students. Prior to the event, during social studies, students had an overview of the wars the United States has been involved in since its inception. Students worked on their own to interview local veterans, gaining a deeper understanding into the real life experiences the vets faced. Students worked during ELA classes to turn their interview notes into narrative poems, identifying with the interviewees often in first person voice. Selected writers were invited to read their interpretations of soldiers' experiences while all students read the names of those servicemen and women they interviewed, as well as names from an "Honor Roll" of Paxton soldiers who gave their lives during war. The American Legion presented a color guard and Paxton's Veterans Agent presented a Veterans Day address. A "veterans museum" and reception immediately followed the program in the PCS library, where students displayed what they had learned during this unit. Later in the afternoon, following a veterans luncheon, students interviewed nine additional Paxton vets at the Paxton Council on Aging Building.