Schools
Worthington middle schoolers unfurl living flag to remember 9/11
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| Perry and Phoenix Middle School students gathered on the Perry football field Friday, Sept. 11, to create a living flag. This photo was taken from a Worthington Fire Department ladder truck. |
* More than 300 students were part of the effort.
By PAMELA WILLIS
A living flag unfolded on the football field at Perry Middle
School last week as students stood tall under stars and
stripes to honor a nation and remember lives lost on 9/11.
Science teacher Brian Scott said students held aloft more than 300 pieces of red, white and blue posterboard Friday, Sept. 11, to create the huge flag.
"We gathered all the Perry and Phoenix students in a morning assembly and our principal Jeff Maddox talked briefly about the history of 9/11 and the terrorist attack," Scott said. "Then we had a moment of silence for the people who didn't survive the attack."
One student, seventh-grader Hayley Kuch, wrote a poem about the number of lives lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York, titled 2,973.
Kuch wrote a note at the end of her poem, explaining that "this poem was written in honor of those who died due to the terrorist attacks that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. In the number of the dead, though, the terrorists themselves are not added into the total calculation because, in my opinion, they should not be honored for murdering 2,973 innocent lives. I pray that every one of the souls lost on that day will never be forgotten."
To read the first stanza of the poem, click on this story on the Worthington News page at ColumbusLocalNews.com.
Scott said his idea for the living flag was sparked by an e-mail he received last month, which spoke about the history of 9/11 and pointed out how high the spirit of patriotism was right after the attacks, but how it faded after eight years passed. The e-mail urged people to display their United States flags Sept. 11.
"I thought how cool it would be to get the whole school involved to create a living flag," he said. "I started contacting businesses to see if they would donate posterboards."
The school received donations from Target, JoAnn Fabrics, Walmart, Holcombs, Meijer and bagpipe instructor Glenn Mackie.
"We also invited the Worthington Fire Department and they donated the use of a hook and ladder truck with a bucket to take an aerial photo," he said.
Scott said the Worthington Fire Department members, along with members of the Columbus Division of Fire and Sharon Township Fire Department, were recognized as first responders.
Computer lab assistant Jayne Rosandich and her husband, Steve, helped arrange a flyover by plane from NetJets, donated by Timothy Heron and flown by Mike Farley from Ohio State University airport. Farley took aerial photos of the living flag.
"It was a huge community effort," Scott said. "The kids were excited about creating the flag and the social studies teachers discussed the terrorist attack in their classes, so that students were able to get a better understanding of why it occurred and why it is important for us to show our patriotism on the anniversary of the date."
Science teacher Brian Scott said students held aloft more than 300 pieces of red, white and blue posterboard Friday, Sept. 11, to create the huge flag.
"We gathered all the Perry and Phoenix students in a morning assembly and our principal Jeff Maddox talked briefly about the history of 9/11 and the terrorist attack," Scott said. "Then we had a moment of silence for the people who didn't survive the attack."
One student, seventh-grader Hayley Kuch, wrote a poem about the number of lives lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York, titled 2,973.
Kuch wrote a note at the end of her poem, explaining that "this poem was written in honor of those who died due to the terrorist attacks that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. In the number of the dead, though, the terrorists themselves are not added into the total calculation because, in my opinion, they should not be honored for murdering 2,973 innocent lives. I pray that every one of the souls lost on that day will never be forgotten."
To read the first stanza of the poem, click on this story on the Worthington News page at ColumbusLocalNews.com.
Scott said his idea for the living flag was sparked by an e-mail he received last month, which spoke about the history of 9/11 and pointed out how high the spirit of patriotism was right after the attacks, but how it faded after eight years passed. The e-mail urged people to display their United States flags Sept. 11.
"I thought how cool it would be to get the whole school involved to create a living flag," he said. "I started contacting businesses to see if they would donate posterboards."
The school received donations from Target, JoAnn Fabrics, Walmart, Holcombs, Meijer and bagpipe instructor Glenn Mackie.
"We also invited the Worthington Fire Department and they donated the use of a hook and ladder truck with a bucket to take an aerial photo," he said.
Scott said the Worthington Fire Department members, along with members of the Columbus Division of Fire and Sharon Township Fire Department, were recognized as first responders.
Computer lab assistant Jayne Rosandich and her husband, Steve, helped arrange a flyover by plane from NetJets, donated by Timothy Heron and flown by Mike Farley from Ohio State University airport. Farley took aerial photos of the living flag.
"It was a huge community effort," Scott said. "The kids were excited about creating the flag and the social studies teachers discussed the terrorist attack in their classes, so that students were able to get a better understanding of why it occurred and why it is important for us to show our patriotism on the anniversary of the date."
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