USA! USA! Schoolchildren Mark Flag Day In Patriotic Assembly

Macdonough Elementary School celebrated Flag Day Friday in a spirited and festive assembly that featured the Connecticut Army National Guard, a keynote address by Middletown Police Chief William McKenna and citizenship awards for outstanding students.

McKenna told children the importance of Flag Day for Americans, adding that appearance is a superficial means of identifying those in the community. As National Guard members filed on stage beside him, McKenna said, "my skin color is not the same as his, or his, or his but we all have a heart and we're all Americans."

He ended by encouraging children to join him in a patriotic chant of "USA! USA!" which immediately caught on, filling the gymnasium with happy shouts from grade schoolers, teachers and parents.

Citizenship awards, for children who reflect Macdonough's positive learning community, were given to kindergartners Dante Gartner, Lena Czepiel, Mirnes Duric, Alyssa Vega, Malakai Johns and Rena Johnson; first-graders Juliana Roberts-Hills, Lucas Rode, Serenity Quinones, Brittany Valente, Angelyna Vega and Taylor Wilks; second-graders Marisiana Brackett, James Maier, Alyssa Elmeer and Logan Sanford; third-graders Mirnela Duric, Lauren Rucker, Quinn Kessel and David Wimler; fourth-graders Daniel Meneses, Aidan McMillan, Yeysah Rivera and Ani Zakerian; and fifth-graders Ray-Chelle Cabassa, Haley Peacock, Rhaquan Smith and D'Andrew Saunders.