Ahead of this year’s Veterans Day, the High School Student Council organized the year’s Flag Raising Ceremony to honor our local Veterans, as well as bring awareness to the importance of this day. Students started by getting donations from members of the school for flag dedications. If they purchased a flag, they were able to dedicate it to a Veteran they know and love. Those dedications were then placed on American flags, and put outside to be displayed in front of the school for our ceremony. The Middle School Student Council held a breakfast for our local Veterans who come for the ceremony, and they get to sit and talk with them, hear about their life, and their stories. We were lucky enough this year to have 6 Veterans from the Florida community to join us for the ceremony. The president of Student Council, Shannon Maher, started the ceremony off by thanking the Veterans for being there, and reminding everyone about the importance of Veterans Day. The Select Choir performed the National Anthem as the Veterans raised the flag, giving everyone a moment to reflect on this important day. Mr. Maesano gave a speech as well that gave background to Veterans Day. The school community was lucky enough to hear from three of the Veterans present, all who attended SS Seward during their high school years, and students and staff had the opportunity to shake hands and thank the Veterans at the end of the ceremony. Both middle and high school student councils thought it was extremely important to keep this flag raising ceremony tradition alive, as supporting our local Veterans is an amazing way to honor their service to our country. – Student Council Advisor, Nicole Sullivan