Local schools have planned a variety of events in the coming days to honor veterans for their service.
Schools planned several events for Thursday, Friday and Monday with Veterans Day falling on Saturday this year. Many have reached out to their communities to invite as many veterans as possible.
Third-grade students at Jessieville Elementary School will present their annual Veterans Day program at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Performing Arts Center. The school plans to provide breakfast for veterans starting at 8 a.m.
The Mountain Pine School District will host a program at 10 a.m. Thursday in the school auditorium. Superintendent B.J. Applegate said a year ago he hoped to make the program an annual event.
"We will have a ceremony Thursday for the whole school and the community," Applegate said. "We want as many veterans to attend as possible. We will also feed the veterans and their spouses after the ceremony."
Hot Springs Intermediate School will hold its annual Veterans Day assembly on Friday at 8:15 a.m. in the gymnasium. Student cheerleaders, dancers and singers will perform.
Students from Hot Springs World Class High School will present the colors and lead a demonstration of flag etiquette. A student speaker will explain the meaning of Veterans Day and the assembly will feature a guest speaker. Veterans from each branch of the military will be recognized.
"As a history teacher, I'm obviously biased about how important I think it is to learn about the past," said Laura West, an advanced history teacher for the intermediate school and the gifted and talented coordinator for the district. "Hot Springs Intermediate School is made up of fifth- and sixth-graders, who might not have met many veterans in their lives yet.
"By having a school assembly, we're sending a message to the veteran population of Hot Springs that we are very grateful to those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. This might be the incentive that my students need to seek out family members who have served and to have discussions with them in order to learn about their military experiences."
Lakeside schools will hold activities throughout the day on Friday. A Blackhawk helicopter with the Army National Guard is scheduled to land at Lakeside High School at 8:30 a.m. and remain on campus until the afternoon.
The school will recognize local heroes, including the National Guard and Hot Springs Police Department, with stations set up for a collaborative learning activity based on the novel, "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," by Laura Hillenbrand. "Unbroken" was released in 2010, nine years after Hillenbrand's first book, "Seabiscuit: An American Legend."
Students will receive a World War II briefing today with food mentioned in "Unbroken." Stations will be set up on Thursday to help bring the book to life for students.
Seventh-grade choir students at Lakeside Middle School will host a concert on Friday at 9 a.m. in the school cafeteria. Veterans in uniform will be honored during lunch at Lakeside Primary School.
Veterans can eat lunch for free on Friday at Lakeside Intermediate School. They will be greeted on campus by Lakeside Liaisons, who will present each veterans with "thank you" cards during each lunch period. Veterans will be able to pick out a book for free after lunch from the school's book fair.
Kindergarten students from Fountain Lake Elementary School will visit Mt. Carmel Community in Hot Springs Village to sing and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Students will also present veterans with "thank you" cards.
Lake Hamilton High School students are writing letters to soldiers to thank them for their service. Students at Lake Hamilton Elementary School are writing letters and making cards for residents of the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock.
National Park College plans to recognize veterans during the men's basketball game on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and veterans will receive free admission with proof of service.
Saturday's game will be the fourth of the season for Nighthawks. Braylon Steen, from Bryant, led the team with 22 points and Seth Duke had four assists in a season-opening 108-83 loss to the reigning NJCAA Region 2 Champions, the Arkansas State University Mid-South Greyhounds in the ASU Mid-South Greyhound Classic. Steen led the team again with 36 points in a 112-100 loss to the North Arkansas College Pioneers, the Region 2 runners-up.
National Park College's women's team opened their season with a 75-68 win Monday against Crowley's Ridge College in front of a full gymnasium in the NPC Wellness Center. The team was led by Kayla Sims, from Fountain Lake, with 20 points. Faith Bratton, from Jessieville, and Bailey Womack, also from Fountain Lake, each scored 18 points.
Former Hot Springs Trojan K.J. Corder helped the Nighthawks earn their first victory of the season, 91-76 over Crowley's Ridge Monday, with 24 points. Jarvis Ricks, from North Little Rock, scored 20 points and Steen added 14.
The men's team will face Williams Baptist College at home on Saturday. The game will be streamed live at http://www.xzerosports.com.
Local on 11/08/2017