Veterans Day, celebrated on Nov. 11, is a national holiday to remember those who have served in the United States armed forces whether it be in war time or during a time of peace. Metea hosts an assembly on Veterans day to thank those with a connection to the school who have served.
“This assembly is incredibly important because it’s a way for us to share the meaning of Veterans Day with our students who might not know it, and also honor our metea Valley veterans and active members, as well as share stories of hopefully inspiring to future members of military personnel,” Rho Khapa board member and assembly speaker Molly Schalk said.
The assembly highlights the staff and staff relatives who have or are serving in the military. Metea enforces the importance of this day by hosting a keynote speaker, who this year was Robert Patterson, with the intention of honoring our veterans and their stories.
“Honoring veterans who have served in our military is something I feel it’s extremely important,” Speech captain and assembly speaker Matthew Bigham said. “These people put their lives on the line for US citizens to be able to live safely and freely.”.
Another way Metea honors our veterans is through music performances throughout the assembly. The National Anthem, sung this year by Samavintha Kaligotla, is the opening of the assembly, with the closing being America the Beautiful. Students in the advanced music classes put in weeks of time and effort into these pieces.
“We give the music right after our fall concert,” Choir director Paulette Boddy said. “So we essentially have three weeks to a month just to make sure we have that.”
Enjoy a quick video that recaps what Veterans Day is, the history behind it, and what occurred at the recent assembly.
In the limited preparation time, the music department values being able to partake in an assembly that represents and honors so much.
“What a wonderful thing that we can at least contribute to a beautiful, little assembly,” Boddy said “And it’s not even a little, it’s a big assembly.”
Across the board, Veterans Day and the assembly Metea holds is well respected by many in the school community. Celebrating freedom and what the country stands for brings a sense of pride to those who participate in the assembly such as orchestra teacher Dr. Mark Liu.
“I absolutely love the fact that this day is all about honoring our veterans and celebrating the freedom that they willingly, sort of, gave up.” Liu said.
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