Veterans Appreciation
One of the easiest ways your family can begin to instill the importance and value of community service is by walking in community parades, which are a great opportunity to honor and thank all who have helped establish and maintain our country’s freedoms.
There are two Veterans Appreciation Parades in Winchester - Veterans Day, November 11th and Memorial Day, the last Monday of May. Some may ask or wonder what the difference is between the two days - Veterans Day is a celebration of all who have served or are actively serving and Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor and remember all who have died while serving.
The Veterans Appreciation Chair will be at each parade staging area with the V-O School Banner. Participants, their families and friends can gather there and we will walk the parade route as a group.
Both parades in Winchester follow similar routes, each stopping at two memorials in Downtown Winchester. The first stop is at the memorial for WWI located at Lincoln Elementary School. At this location there is a wreath-laying ceremony which includes music, the playing of Taps and a three-volley salute. The second stop is at the Veterans Memorial located at Winchester Town Hall. Here, the ceremonies typically include a student presentation of their essay on what either Veterans or Memorial Day means to them, comments from various elected officials or other special invited guests, an invocation, patriotic music, the playing of Taps and a three-volley salute.
We encourage families to stay for the duration of the ceremony but also recognize that this may not always be possible, and that is OK. We want to encourage as many people to come out and march as possible! If your family is able to march but not able to stay for the entirety of the program we simply ask that you quietly and respectfully separate from the rest of the group in a timely manner so as not to create a distraction during the formal proceedings.
We hope to see a lot of V-O students and their families at the parades so we can have the biggest participation of all five elementary schools!
Specific details will be confirmed and published in the V-O Newsletter closer to each parade day, however, traditionally, both parades assemble at Winchester High School, with the Veterans Day Parade beginning at 10:15 AM and the Memorial Day Parade beginning at 9:15 AM.
Please feel free to email with any questions. Hope to see many of you there!
Leadership for Veterans Appreciation
The committee is responsible for bringing members of the V-O School Community together to march in each of two parades, which our local chapter of the V.F.W. in cooperation with the Town of Winchester organize to honor its citizens who have served in the military. The committee also ensures details are confirmed and published in the VOPA Newsletter, thereby informing the school community about these wonderful community service opportunities!
Meredith Blair