Why We Celebrate - Lest We Forget - May 2005
Dr. William C. Skilling, Superintendent
Another school year is rapidly coming to a close and we can be thankful for the many blessings and successes we have received this school year. We have made a lot of progress toward our goals as identified in the district’s strategic plan. One goal in particular I want to highlight is becoming a more family friendly school. In their desire to do more for kids, schools have created some unintentional negative consequences to the family by taking away from family time and the family dinner hour. Our aim at Webberville Community Schools is to create a balance between doing more for our students, while at the same time doing more to support family time. To help us achieve this goal we changed our school year to start after Labor Day and end by Memorial Day weekend. In addition, we have eliminated half days from our school calendar. Starting in the fall of 2006, when the new Webberville Community Center opens, we will no longer have practices past 7:00 p.m. We will strive to have most athletic practices and school commitments end by 5:30 p.m. in an effort to help restore the family dinner hour.
I want to devote the rest of this article to a second goal and a new tradition we are establishing this year. Our goal as a school district is to instill in our young people a strong sense of patriotism. We want our students to respect and honor those who have served our country selflessly in our armed services which allows our students to enjoy many freedoms in this country, “Lest we forget.”
On the last day of school each year we will have a patriotic celebration in our football/track stadium. The celebration will include the bands and choirs performing patriotic music. We will invite guest speakers from the military, as well as elected officials. We will honor all of our veterans and current service men and women who can attend. All four branches of the military will be represented and we will have military displays of equipment and other artifacts for people to enjoy. This year will also include a special dedication. In the northeast corner of the infield will be three flag poles. One flag pole will have the state of Michigan flag on display and the second pole will have the MIA – POW flag. The middle flag pole will have an 8 x 12 American flag. The three flag display, in addition to a rock with a dedication plaque, will be dedicated in honor of all former Webberville Community High School students who have served in our military, are currently serving, or high school seniors who will be serving. Every year hereafter we will continue to honor these individuals.
In preparation for this day, the students in grades K-12 will be studying themes related to our founding fathers, patriotism, democratic values, and learning patriotic music. We cannot do enough as a school district to instill the love of country and respect of our cultural heritage preserved for us by our armed forces.
The community is invited to participate in this annual event on Friday, May 27, 2005. After the performances and ceremonies, we will be offering a picnic lunch for everyone in attendance. Please see the inside article that gives the agenda of activities for that day. I hope that we will have a great turnout to honor all of the men and women who have served our country from Webberville.
This is why we celebrate – Lest We Forget!