Proud moments: Fredonia schools celebrate veterans
Veterans from various branches of the military were welcomed by the Fredonia Central School District earlier this week to celebrate Veterans Day.
Photos courtesy of the Fredonia Central School District U.S. Army Sergeant Jordan Ahrens visited his son, Josiah, as part of the Veterans Day celebration at Fredonia Elementary School. Josiah’s shirt for the day read, “My favorite veteran is my daddy.”
Veterans from various branches of the military were welcomed by the Fredonia Central School District earlier this week to celebrate Veterans Day.
Photos courtesy of the Fredonia Central School District U.S. Army Sergeant Jordan Ahrens visited his son, Josiah, as part of the Veterans Day celebration at Fredonia Elementary School. Josiah’s shirt for the day read, “My favorite veteran is my daddy.”
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This week, students of all ages in the Fredonia Central School District joined together to honor local veterans with a special breakfast and indoor parade.
Local veterans from all branches of military service and their family members enjoyed breakfast and a brief presentation in the High School cafeteria. The veterans were then invited to introduce themselves and share briefly about their military experiences.
After breakfast, the veterans paraded through the buildings while faculty, staff and the entire student body lined the hallways while cheering, waving flags, and holding up posters.
The tradition of honoring veterans at Fredonia Central started in 2010 with a small classroom celebration. As the celebration spread to more classes and students, presentations were held in the auditorium.
The event was held as a car parade in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year's celebration came back inside and encompassed the entire Main Street campus, as well as the Wheelock Primary School.
"We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful community of veterans who want to help us educate and inform our students of the duties and sacrifices of our military men and women", said Fredonia Special Education Teacher Kristin Tomaszewski, the organizer of the event. "We want to recognize and thank our veterans for their service."
Students and staff also held a dress down day, wearing red, white, and blue to honor the veterans. The district raised funds for the Blue Star Mothers of America, an organization that supports women who have children serving in the military, guard or reserves, or children who are veterans.