6 | Saturday, November 9, 2024
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Cairo students thank veterans with letters, pictures Some veterans write back to kids
pictures. One such youngster is fifth- grader Bryden Osburn, who has an uncle to whom he wrote a thank note. “I have two uncles who have served in the military,” he said. Bryden said he knows veter- ans are good people who do good things. “They are a person who served in the military to help us out,” he said. Bryden said he loves the free- dom that veterans preserve for us in the United States. “We get to go out and do things, and we don’t have kings and queens telling us what to do,” Bryden said. He also said veterans can be younger in age or older, and they may have served a long time ago, or more recently. “Thanking you for serving for us and helping us be free,” Bryden said. As a teacher, Knopik said she teaches about freedom during history study time. “We learn about king and queens, puritans, about religious freedom, and our freedom to speak,” she said. Although the Letters To Veter- ans program is about kids sending letters and pictures, Knopik said she and the rest of the CPS staff have a debt of gratitude for all who have served their country. “Thank you for your service, and your time. And your com- mitment away from your family,” she said. Last year, Centura Public
JOSH SALMON Grand Island Independent
CAIRO — For over a decade, kids at Centura Public Schools students have been giving back to the community, namely area vet- erans, by telling them thank you via letters and colored pictures. Barb Knopik, fifth-grade teacher at Centura, said she has a major emotional connection to the “Letters To Veterans” pro- gram. “Between my husband and I, we have six family members who have served, with my brother the most recent,” Knopik said. An emotional Knopik added, “We are extremely thankful for them (veterans).” Area veterans sign up with the school to receive the special mail. Knopik said they have even had some veterans return their ap- preciation for the kids. “Some will correspond by writ- ing back to the kids,” said Knopik. “That is a great way for them to communicate.” Last year, one veteran showed up in person and met some of the kids who wrote him letters and colored him pictures. Kids in grades 3-5 hand-write thank you letters to either vet- erans in their own families, or ones on the school’s list. Kinder- garteners and first-graders color
School sent out 200 thank you letters and colored patriotic pic- tures to veterans in the area. Each veteran receives multiple letters and artwork from the school kids. The letters and pictures are cre- ated a couple of days before Veter- ans Day and mailed to be received on or by Nov. 11. For more information on Letters to Veterans, contact the Centura Public School office. A Centura student colors a picture for a veteran at school on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The school has been sending letters to local veterans for over 10 years. JOSH SALMON PHOTOS , THE INDEPENDENT
Paetyn Wilkins, a third-grader at Centura Elementary school, works on a thank you note to a local veteran on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
For your service & sacrifice!
PEST MANAGEMENT THANKS VETS
308-216-0517 208 Center Street, Gibbon, NE
Residential & Commercial • (308) 236-6103
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online