JFK held a wide-ranging Flag Day celebration this year, coordinated by fifth-grade teacher Audrey Schulter. She was assisted by band teacher Lou Nicolosi, who assembled a special Flag Day Band to provide the accompanying music for the ceremony.

Serving as honored guests this year were Col. Stephen Labate , a U.S. Army Reserve officer and father of fifth-grader twins Maria Labate and Michael Labate Jr., and Sgt. Charles Bianculli, an Army veteran who was presented with a hand-print American flag by JFK’s Let’s Make a Difference Club. Local Girl Scouts from Troop 801 presented a flag-folding demonstration, while Eagle Scout Michael Charumaneeroj spoke to the students about patriotism.

Schulter had earlier run a schoolwide poetry contest, asking students to write a poem about what the flag means to them. One winner from each grade level was selected and read their poem at the Flag Day ceremony. Fifth-grade students from each classroom also created posters to reflect Ruth Apperson Rous’ patriotic poem “I Am The Flag.” As the students came up to present their posters, they each read a stanza from the poem to the audience.