Molly ShoreWaving American flags and singing the...
Molly Shore
Waving American flags and singing the words, “I’m proud to be an
American,” the faces of Emerson Elementary School’s fourth-graders
stirred the emotions of parents and teachers at the school’s annual
Patriotic Day assembly.
“You guys did a fabulous job,” teacher Gilbert Yoon told the group
after the presentation Thursday. “It gave me chills.”
Parent Scott Ehredt, sitting in the front row of the auditorium,
applauded loud and long when the children finished singing “God Bless
the U.S.A.”
Ehredt’s 8-year-old daughter Alyssa, a student in Arlene
Mooradian’s third-grade class, was one of the children who memorized
all 50 states as part of the song, “Fifty Nifty United States”
“She has been singing the song for a couple of months,” her
mother, Brenda Runyan, said. “The song has a lot of words, and she
knows them all.”
Mary Ellen Herndon’s third-graders opened the program as they
marched into the auditorium, each child waving a flag and wearing
red, white and blue hats they had.
The students rehearsed for Thursday’s program for several weeks,
working with an outside group, Music In Action. Additionally, the
third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers at Emerson created and
organized their classrooms’ presentations, he said.
Yoon’s pupil, Sammy Lee, 9, said he was relieved when the singing
was finished. Although Sammy said the words to the songs were easy to
memorize, he spent two weeks of his own time rehearsing for the
assembly.
The threat of terrorist acts in the U.S. has worried him, Sammy
said, but participating in the assembly was a positive act that made
him feel better.
“It made me feel more comfortable about the war situation right
now,” the youngster said.