House Creek Elementary holds parade, concert for Veterans Day

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

Across Copperas Cove Independent School District, each campus put something together to recognize veterans in honor of Veterans Day, whether it was a breakfast, a parade or decorating a wall with pictures of students’ parents who are veterans.

At House Creek Elementary, students and staff showed support for veterans with a special parade around the school’s back parking lot, followed by a concert for the school’s adopted Fort Hood unit Wednesday morning. 

Students carried patriotic posters and pictures as they walked two laps around the parking lot. Chants of “USA! USA! USA!” could be heard from the children as they waved their flags and pictures.  Soldiers from the school’s Adopt-a-School Unit, the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, joined the students, offering high fives and smiles as they marched. 

Once the parade finished, the House Creek Honor Choir sang patriotic songs to the soldiers as they sat at tables with decorated paper bags featuring messages of support and gratitude. There was also a table set up for coffee and refreshments for the soldiers. 

Fifth-grader Melanie Russell, 10, is familiar with the sacrifices that soldiers and veterans make, because her dad is currently serving in the Army.

“It felt really good to give back to the veterans for everything that they’ve done,” Russell said after the parade. 

Russell and her classmates decorated posters, made shrinky-dinks and decorated the bags that were on the tables. 

Fifth-grader Makayla Sanford, 10, also comes from a military-connected family, with parents who are veterans. 

Sanford said she wrote notes on the posters and made sure to include messages thanking the soldiers and veterans for their service. 

“I feel like veterans do do a lot to serve our country, and so I wanted to be a part of it, so I helped decorate and stuff like that,” Sanford said. 

House Creek is the district’s third largest elementary school and has the highest percentage of military connected students in the district, at 68 percent as of last year, according to CCISD Communications Director Wendy Sledd. 

Lt. Col. Charles ‘Skip’ Turner, the Battalion Commander for the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, walked in the parade with the students and other soldiers from his unit.

“This is a community. We want to be a part of the community,” Turner said about being at the parade.  “It means a lot to be able to give back to the community, to be a part of it and embrace it.”

Turner said he didn’t expect such a big event Wednesday morning. 

“I’m a little overwhelmed. It’s pretty cool,” Turner said. “I thought we were going to come here and tour the school and talk to a couple people. This is awesome. You can’t take these moments for granted, so this is awesome.”