WESTBROOK

As a way of showing appreciation to veterans for their service, the town of Westbrook and Westbrook Public Schools have partnered to host a community Veterans Day celebration on the Town Green on Friday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m.

The celebration will last about an hour and feature speeches from town officials and veterans. Students from Westbrook Middle School will perform the National Anthem, while the third- and fourth-grade chorus will also perform. Students from Westbrook High School will explain the significance of the poppies and perform the poem “In Flanders Field.” Should there be inclement weather, the ceremony will be held on Monday,

Nov. 13.

“Every student from the high school and middle school will be there, as well as third and fourth graders from Daisy Ingraham School. We’re expecting about 500 to 600 people there,” said Chet Bialicki, one of the organizers of the event.

Bialicki said the town is reaching out and inviting any area veteran who is able to attend the ceremony, as well as members of the public.

“We want anyone who can to come. It’s not required, but we recommend any veterans coming [to] call the first selectman’s office and leave a message so we have a count on seats, but that’s not required,” Bialicki said.

Veterans Day is traditionally held each Nov. 11 to honor those who have served the country. The day was originally known as Armistice Day and marked the day the Allied Forces and Germany signed an armistice during World War I.

Usually, the town holds a ceremony on the Town Green, but with the holiday falling on a Saturday this year, Bialicki said the town decided to hold the ceremony on a Friday so that the students could also attend.

Bialicki, who is a member of the Westbrook Board of Selectman as well as a teacher at the high school, said that in meeting with school district leaders, it was determined that it would be a good idea to have Westbrook students present at the event as a lesson on Veterans Day and civic engagement.

“We’ve never done anything together like this, and we want our students involved in town government more, and this is a step in that direction,” Bialicki said.

In order to do that, Bialicki said that in addition to having the students perform music at the ceremony. They will also have students give speeches.

“We have two students at the high school who signed up for the military, and we thought it would be a nice twist to have them speak and have them say what Veterans Day means to them and why they joined,” Bialicki said.

“Our students need to know the importance and see the community at large come together. It will show the spirit and meaning of what we’re supposed to observe that day,” Bialicki said.