Dana Hall doesn’t recognize Veterans Day, but there are some easy ways we can pay respect to people who have done great things for the country through serving. Other schools in our area such as Wellesley Public Schools have the day off, and Belmont Hill brings in a speaker each year, which are both great ways to honor the holiday. While giving a day off may not be attainable, we could easily honor the holiday, simply by recognizing it in a meeting.
Veterans Day is November 11, which recognizes the day’s long history, starting when World War I officially ended on November 11, 1918. This time is often referred to as “the war to end all wars.” Fighting officially ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, which was known as Armistice Day, which it is still called in England. The name was changed to Veterans Day in the US in 1954.
For this year, it is most realistic to have an announcement in both Upper School, and Middle School meetings to shine a light on the holiday, as it falls on a Monday this year. In future years I would hope to see a Flex Block speaker, maybe a veteran and more specifically a female veteran, to talk about the holidays’ importance on a deeper level.
In past years, there have been sporadic announcements about the holiday. A recent example was pre-Covid when Mr. Neumann read the poem “In Flanders Field” by John McRare which talks about the significance of poppies to Veterans Day. Poppies represent remembrance and the hope for a peaceful future, so they are worn on Veterans Day to honor the holiday. The wearing of poppies originally started with Armistice Day in England. Recognizing the day consistently is a small tribute to veterans, and would likely mean a lot to people who have veterans in their lives.
As well as recognizing the holiday in a meeting, we could also do community service trips to raise awareness. Many veterans deal with problems such as issues finding jobs, homelessness, and many medical issues after they serve. For community service trips we could visit organizations in Boston for Veterans struggling with these issues. New England Center and Home for Veterans is right nearby in Boston and offers many different volunteer opportunities. This would also benefit our community, especially tenth graders needing to get community service hours in.
In late May we have a day off for Memorial Day, a similar day to Veterans Day. While both holidays celebrate people who have served, Memorial Day has the focus on those who have died fighting, while Veterans Day celebrates everyone, both with us and not with us, who have fought. Dana Hall gives the day off for Memorial Day, but because it is such a busy time with finals, and school wrapping up, it often goes unnoticed as well. As we often cannot recognize Memorial Day with how busy everyone’s schedules get, we should put more focus into Veterans Day to honor both.
Image source: The Garden of Medicinal Plants
Indresh Chandel