Students Learn Importance of Veterans

Third-graders Aaron Mood and Cassidy Pirich walked up to U.S. Army Major Phil Engle, shook his hand and handed him a note of appreciation.

"It's a real honor," Engle said.

Engle was one of more than a dozen armed service members recognized at Monday's Veterans Day ceremony. students packed the auditorium and watched a slide-show presentation, honoring the American military.

The students also listened to speeches from teachers Michael Neu and Michelle Tumminelli, Tulsa Trail Principal Dr. Joanne Mullane and Superintendent Dr. Charles Maranzano.

"That's what veterans are—young and old, rich and poor, black and white and every category in between," said Neu, whose wife, special-education teacher Jennifer Neu, helped secure a National Education Association PRIDE grant for the ceremony. "They are men and women who have served and still serve. Some of them endured great hardships. Like separation from their families. Some of them experienced (war). They've all sacrificed something so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today."

After the ceremony, veterans fielded questions from Tulsa Trail students in their classrooms. The veterans were then treated to a luncheon.

Mullane said the event was part of Tulsa Trail's ongoing emphasis on leadership.

Michael Neu said teacher Danielle Kovach and J.P. Mulholland also played large roles in coordinating the ceremony.