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Bedford students thank veterans with letters

The Monroe News - 12/10/2021

Dec. 10—Students from Bedford Public School'sMonroe Road Elementary recently found a way to extend thanks to veterans.

Six third and fourth grade classes attended a virtual field trip offered by the River Raisin Battle Field National Park Foundation. The foundation's administrator, Pam Puccetti, said the field trip taught students about the global war on terrorism.

"Recently we did a virtual field trip offering from the River Raisin National Battle Field Park about the war on terrorism in which we discussed veterans and the sacrifices that they made, and how they were uncles and dads and brothers," said Puccetti.

Puccetti said Chuck Estep, an education consultant for the Monroe County Intermediate School District (MCISD), came up with the idea as a way to get students to write thank-you letters to veterans for their service.

"So I connected letter writing to veterans, for the literacy component, to learning about the veterans of the global war on terrorism and what life was like for them. So it was really very interactive," said Estep. "The kids wrote letters that we collected and we're going to take them up to the veterans hospital in Ann Arbor so that the kids will actually be able to reach the lives of vets who are sick, recovering and in therapy."

Fourth grade students Louis Amos and Quinn Belair were very enthusiastic about the letter writing activity.

Amos called the activity amazing.

"We were able to write to veterans that were sick and hurt," Amos said.

"They're going to be super happy," Belair added. "And I hope they have a happy Christmas, too."

Estep, Puccetti Jim and Cheri Maitland, who volunteer at the park, and the park's mascot, Major Muskrat, all came to the school Tuesday morning to thank the students for participating in the letter writing activity.

"We learned about the men and women that serve in the military and that it's a great honor to do that and that we have a responsibility to thank those people," said Estep. "And you guys took that to heart and you guys wrote letters."

Estep said to the students that he wanted to find a way to thank them for showing such gratitude. Each student was gifted a certificate and a miniature Jeep, which he explained was the first kind of military vehicle.

"These Jeeps are very rare; they're one-of-a-kind and have the park logo on it," Estep said. "I want you to think of them not so much as a toy, but as something to put on your dresser to remind you that there are heroes who need our encouragement and our thanks."

Each of the six teachers were also gifted a book called "The Town that Fooled the British" about the War of 1812. The book comes with lessons that the teachers can download and incorporate into their lesson plans.

Third grade teacher Angela Eby said her students really enjoyed the activity. She said several of her students have family members who are veterans and used this activity as a way to honor to them.

"We haven't had a lot of opportunities for field trips right now, so they enjoyed this a lot," Eby said. "Chuck does a great job with keeping them excited about what they're learning.

"It was really a special thing."

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