Thomson Tales: Thanking our Veterans

By Charles Kuo, DC Elementary School Program Site Coordinator & Parent Outreach Coordinator
Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff

AALEAD introduces “Thomson Tales”! In this blog series, you will be enlightened with the latest happenings at our DC Elementary School Program at Thomson Elementary School. Now take a deep breath… and prepare to be amazed!

Today, November 11, we celebrate and thank our veterans for their willingness to serve and sacrifice for our country. It is a day to honor their selflessness and courage. Last week, our AALEADers took the initiative in thanking our veterans by making personalized cards and posters. As part of their current unit, our Turtles (Grades K-1) class have started a BOB (Building Outside the Box) series. The series encompasses lessons on life skills, community service, and  STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and  Math) skills.

All of the cards started with the same salutation of “Dear Hero”. However, each of the students took time to write their own personal and encouraging messages. It was great to see them seriously thinking of how to express their gratitude in a creative way. More importantly, it was a great moment for the students to think outside of themselves and to practice giving back to their community.  The cards and  a joint group poster were all sent to Operation Gratitude which “annually sends 150,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, plus personal letters of appreciation, to New Recruits, Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors, Care Givers and to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas.” (Resource: http://www.operationgratitude.com/about-us/about-operation-gratitude/).

Many of students said they felt “good” and “happy” after their acts of kindness and were looking forward to their next project! We are excited to provide them that future opportunity. Until then, we’ll definitely keep you updated with our other happenings at our DC Elementary School Program at Thomson Elementary School!

Thank you for reading this edition of “Thomson Tales”. Remember to check back on our blog weekly for program and staff updates. Follow us: Twitter and Instagram (@aalead). Like us on Facebook (Asian American LEAD)!