Mayflower Elementary School students sported camouflage face paint and military-themed clothing Friday as they celebrated Enrichment Day.
Kindergarten teacher Susan Turner said the staff decided this year's annual event would have a military theme, and letters were sent to parents inviting them to be a part of the day if they were in the military.
Third-grade teacher Michele Calcagni said each grade was assigned a different branch of the military. Preschool and kindergarten were the Coast Guard for the day, and they wore red, white and blue. First graders were the Air Force, she said, and they wore navy. Second-grade students sported camouflage, as their branch was the Army. Third-graders were in the Navy for the day, and they wore white T-shirts with Navy logo patches. Fourth graders were the few, the proud, and they wore shirts that said "Marines."
In the gym, much giggling could be heard as students ran an obstacle course that involved hoops, running around cones, doing pushups, jumping rope, and more running.
Lt. Jeff Tate, a full-time physician's assistant with the Arkansas Army National Guard at Camp Robinson, explained to students what the National Guard does and showed them the equipment a soldier carries as well as the medical training equipment he uses. He is also a SCUBA diver, and he showed students his diving equipment.
Turner said a helicopter from Camp Robinson landed at the school first thing in the morning.
"They loved it," she said. "The whole school was out there. It landed about eight o'clock in the morning. They got to climb up in there and look at all the gadgets. They've had a lot of fun. More than that, because it's their family members, I think they're proud to share their family members with the rest of the school."
Robin Stevens, who serves in the Army Reserve, discussed proper flag etiquette with the students.
"We should show the utmost care for the flag," she said. "When it is flown, it is considered a living thing."
She told students the flag should be raised briskly and lowered slowly, with reverence. She said some Boy Scout troops have boxes at the Conway Post Office where old flags can be taken, and the scouts will burn them. Burning is the proper way to dispose of a tattered or dirty flag.
Stevens presented the school with an all-weather flag, which can be flown during rain or snow, she said. The flag can stay out 24 hours if a light is on it but otherwise must be lowered at night and raised in the morning, she said.
Also on Friday, the Junior ROTC from Conway High School came to demonstrate drills for the students, and the children were able to try on soldier gear.
(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
