“Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light…”
Members of Girl Scout Troop 337 are raising the American flag each morning before classes begin at Heron School. The 4th-graders took on the task voluntarily recently as a service to the school, and they studied flag etiquette to ensure they would perform responsibly.
“I believe it teaches them respect for our country and instills responsibility and reverence,” said Beth Mahony, who teams with JudyAnne Alanis and Cher Pizante to mentor and lead the troop of 4th-graders.
To carry the American flag with due respect, the nine girls of Troop 337 received tips on handling from Pablito Castillo, Heron’s lead custodian and an armed forces veteran.
What did they learn? The American flag can’t be allowed to touch the ground, the girls said. It can’t be placed upside down. It can’t be worn. It can’t be used to carry something.
Two of the nine girls handle the flag-raising task every morning, rotating among themselves. Why do they do it? “It’s the flag of our country, and it’s important to us,” Hunter said. Sabrina said her appreciation for the flag has grown, adding, “I respect it more.”
Mahony said that Principal Amy Whitten suggested, during a chat with parents, that a student group consider volunteering for the flag duty. Troop 337 jumped on the opportunity to raise the American and California flags each morning.
Whitten said the flag-raising “provides a wonderful way for the Girl Scout Troop to serve their school community while also learning the traditions, ceremony and etiquette of the American flag.”
Whitten added, “The school benefits because all of a sudden, kids see other kids involved in raising the flag, and they are interested in what it means.”
Whitten noted that schools recently received a Presidential Proclamation to fly the flag at half-mast in honor of the final burial of John Glenn. Suddenly, kids were more aware of this and interested in knowing why the flag is flown at half-mast on a particular day, she said.
“I think this service the Girl Scout Troop is providing will bring up many opportunities to develop a sense of civic mindedness in in all our students,” Whitten said.
