Hello Ballwin Elementary community, I hope all is well.  As a way for you to provide input into the things that are happening at school I am starting a blog.  This is my first attempt and I hope that you find it a productive tool for communication. 

The topic of my first blog is Veteran’s Day.    I think it is important for students to learn about our country’s armed forces and where they fit into our government.  We should teach our students about honoring the men and women who choose to serve their country through one of the branches of the military.  On November 9^th we did just that.  One of our Ballwin parents, Becky Hoffman, planned, organized, and implemented a celebration that we can all be proud of. 

There were guests here from every branch of the military that spoke to classes and answered questions.  Most of the service men and women were relatives of our students.   Our Character Council welcomed our guests and escorted them to their destinations.  We had a nice reception for them and an assembly to honor our guests.  During the assembly Marquette’s Marching Band and Ballwin’s Fifth Grade Chorus performed.  We also heard from the USO who stressed the importance of community service.  There is link on our website if you would like to see pictures and learn more about it. 

Have you had a chance to talk to your child/children about the event?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Maybe you have suggestions for next year.  For example, I would like to look into the possiblity of having video messages from family members that are serving in another part of the country or overseas that we could play during the assembly.  Imagine a child that has a mother, father, brother or sister serving our country and during an assembly they receive a message from that special person.  Your thoughts?  Thank you, Tim.