Emerson Elementary School students packed the stage at nearby First Baptist Church on Thursday afternoon to honor local veterans with their performances of patriotic songs for Veterans Day.

Principal Julie Kelly said the program was the culmination of the students’ hard work in music class over the past few weeks.

“The students have been working on the songs and learning about the importance of Veterans Day for weeks in music class,” she said. “It was great to see their American pride culminate in the program.”

Students sang eight songs in total. Those were “Veteran’s March,” “When the Flag Goes By,” “I Love My Country,” “Yankee Doodle,” “America, My Homeland,” “Grateful Nation,” “Grateful to Be American” and “Blue and Red and White.“

Family members of students and other members of the community packed the church’s sanctuary for the show. Kelly said she was moved by the large turnout.

“I am always so moved to see the crowd that comes out for the programs,” she said. “The majority of the crowd are parents and grandparents of our students. I sit on the front row of the program and I can see the students’ excited faces as they work to give their family the performance of their life.”

The other part of the audience really moves her, she said.

“We have many that come to the program as a way to celebrate Veterans Day with no student connection to Emerson,” she said. “It is a moving experience to be with such a large crowd sharing our pride in being an American and living in the United States of America.”

Kelly feels programs like the one conducted by her school are important to help provide young students with a foundational understanding of the importance of veterans and the role they play in securing the many freedoms enjoyed by Americans.

“The underpinning of our American society is the freedoms that have been won and maintained by our veterans. It is really difficult to appreciate the freedoms and rights we have without a good understanding of how the United States was formed,” Kelly said.

“Holidays like Veterans Day provide a great opportunity for elementary-age students to begin learning about our country’s history and the part veterans played in that history and our current reality,” she said. “Some of the deeper concepts of Veterans Day are too complex for many young students to understand, but by taking the opportunity to build a foundation for Veterans Day at this age, it prepares the way for a richer and deeper understanding of veterans and the meaning of being an American.”