Riverside Campus honors veterans with assembly and luncheon, unveils veteran kiosk

Nov. 11—Riverside Campus welcomed veterans to its annual Veterans Day assembly and luncheon on Nov. 11, also using the occasion to unveil a new touchscreen kiosk that lists Riverside alumni and staff members who served in the military.

This was the school's seventh year hosting the event, noted event organizer and Riverside teacher Jenny Cavell.

Visitors heard from Cavell, Riverside Campus Principal William Mayer and nine students who read letters to veterans. They also saw multiple videos honoring service members, including one where Riverside students and staff answered the question "What is a veteran?"

"What astounds me is the first year I maybe had 30 letters to read total that kids submitted," Cavell said. "Now I'm getting over 100 each year to go through and decide, and that's the part I like best, because adults can talk about being grateful for their freedom, but I think sometimes it's nice to hear it from the young people, that they actually appreciate the fact that they live in a free country."

She added that this was likely the largest turnout for the event.

"I like the part that the school is actually engaging the kids in respecting veterans and honoring them," said Chris Weiss, an Army veteran who attended the event.

"I'm glad that in this case, a teacher whose parents served in the military felt strongly enough about doing this at the school that she did," he added.

Students from the school's music programs also contributed. One student sang the national anthem, band members played songs from the Armed Forces Medley and choir members recited the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields."

After the assembly, guests proceeded to the Riverside gym for a luncheon.

They also had the opportunity to use a new touchscreen veterans kiosk in the Riverside lobby. The kiosk was the second phase of the Riverside Veterans Memorial Project, noted district Director of Marketing and Communications Nick Carrabine, with the first being the Riverside Stadium Wall of Honor.

The project's organizers intend for the display to eventually list all Riverside alumni and staff members who have served in the military, he added.

The kiosk's designers are working to allow users to view members of the Riverside community by date, by branch of the military or by the location where they served, noted Riverside literacy and social studies coach Richard Schmidt.

The district's social studies teachers completed write-ups describing the various branches of the military and conflicts, while the kiosk's interface was designed by Auburn Career Center computer programming students.

He added that there are currently around 300 names in the system and invited alumni who have served to send information to Cavell or the Riverside Campus office. He also mentioned a need for more photographs of the service members.

Cavell can be reached at jenny.cavell@riversideschools.net, while the office can be reached at 440-352-3341.

In addition to the assembly and luncheon at Riverside Campus, Carrabine said that the district's elementary schools and LaMuth Middle School also hosted Veterans Day events.

"Veterans Day is one of our favorite days of the year," he said in an email, later adding, "Whether it's a breakfast, a luncheon or an assembly, it's a great opportunity for our staff and students to bring them in and let them know how much we appreciate what they have done for our country."

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