Three Village students and staff honor Patriot Day

Three Village students and staff honor Patriot Day

Students and staff across the Three Village Central School District honored Patriot Day on Sept. 11. Through in-class lessons and activities, students reflected on the tragic events of 9/11 by remembering the lives lost, those who were impacted and the many heroes who made sacrifices.

At several elementary schools across the district, students planted American flags on the front lawn of their buildings. Meanwhile, the perimeter of the Ward Melville High School property was lined with flags as a display of remembrance. 

Along with the flag tributes, many students and staff dressed in red, white and blue as a show of unity.

R.C. Murphy Junior High School social studies teacher Kristin Stelfox participated in an invaluable experience this summer to learn new strategies to effectively teach Three Village students about 9/11. Stelfox was selected for the inaugural Institute for Educators at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, spending five days learning from first responders, museum directors and curators and leaders in their fields of study on terrorism about how to teach the history of 9/11 and ensure this fateful day may never be forgotten. 

Stelfox presented what she learned to her department so that her experience and knowledge gained could be shared with a greater audience of Three Village students.

“This experience was incredibly impactful, not only because of the level of access to and caliber of presenters over five days, but because our commitment to never forgetting means we dedicate the time to teaching the next generation of students about the sacrifices and heroism of the day,” she said.