In honor of Veterans Day, Bristow High School (BHS) and Bristow Middle School (BMS) will join together and hold an assembly at the Freeland Center, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the Eleventh of November. Everyone is invited to attend.
While speaking about the assembly with Mike Sanford, retired Bristow Public Schools’ middle and high school choir director, he noted that the purpose of holding the assembly is not only to honor our veterans but to educate our local students about what Veterans Day is and why it proves important to remember and honor our veterans’ service and sacrifices. For that reason, many students, school departments and staff, and people from the community will be actively participating throughout the assembly while veterans in attendance will be seated in dedicated sections of the Freeland.
In advance of the assembly, BMS secretary Kim Looney will put together a printed program, which all veterans in attendance will receive. Students from Don Baker’s stage craft class will set up the stage for light and sound. Additionally, the leadership classes of each school, and under the direction of instructors Becky Busch and Quila Cole, will assist attendees with parking, which will be located in the parking lot to the north of the music building and the lots nearer the main high school buildings.
Once the assembly begins, a representative of the middle school student council will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and the salute to the Oklahoma State Flag. Three students from Jessica Frizzell’s speech and drama class will speak about the origins of the holiday and the history of the national anthem and will read the presidential proclamation. Under the direction of band directors Ryan McCreary and Sheila Davis and choir director Melissa Hall, the band and choir will perform a few different musical numbers, including the national anthem and Taps.
Additional school staff and community members will participate during the ceremony. BHS Principal Steve Spears will speak to students. Former Bristow teacher and retired United States Army Airborne Ranger Jesse Markum will serve as guest speaker. Bristow Boy Scout Troup 571 will present the colors.
As the assembly wraps up, Sherry Edens’ seventh grade language arts class will present letters they will have written to the veterans in attendance, and Joe McGovran’s BHS FFA students will distribute small gift bags to those veterans as well. Veterans will also receive a miniature flag.
Finally, when asked how long BHS and BMS have been holding the Veterans Day assemblies and how those assemblies first began, Mr. Sanford shared a touching memory—one from which we could all learn. He stated that Bristow schools have held the assembly for at least 25 years. As to how it began, he noted that, for him, he first became involved in Veterans Day assemblies during his employ- ment at Kingfisher schools, where he was asked to have his students sing during such an assembly. Following that assembly, the schools released for the day to honor veterans for their service with a parade. “They dedicated an entire day to the veterans!” he exclaimed. The experience left him in awe, realizing that he wanted to be involved in honoring veterans in schools for as long as possible. Therefore, it was not surprising to learn that he may have been a catalyst in Bristow Public Schools holding such assemblies or that he remains involved with them each year despite having retired from teaching. For all of us, it proves paramount to acknowledge the dedication and sacrifices our veterans have made in order to appreciate the freedoms we experience. May we fill the Freeland for the assembly in their honor.