Our Stories

• Second-grade students visited with author and USAF pilot Caroline “Blaze” Jenson who used her experience as a pilot to write the picture book, Thundermouse.  After hearing the story, students asked questions of Blaze.  A highlight included hearing how Blaze could draw a heart with her airplane in the sky! Students were inspired by this presentation to create paper airplanes and test their own “flight” skills.

• Students in grades 3-5 attended an assembly where Lieutenant Daniel Kliman shared his story about how he served overseas and in the U.S.A. for the Navy.  He described how his family served with him.  Students had insightful questions about many things including deployment overseas, food that Navy personnel eat, flying, and living and working on submarines and Navy ships. 
  • Tony Marshall also presented over Zoom from his Los Angeles home.  Mr. Marshall served in the USAF in Vietnam and was a POW. 

• Lieutenant Colonel Beth Robbins spoke with middle school students about her experience of service, inspired by her family’s history in the Holocaust and a desire to “put skin in the game” for our country and its values. 

• Eighth Grade students visited the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. This museum was created by the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, a group formed in 1896 by 63 Jewish veterans of the American Civil War in response to false claims that Jewish Americans did not serve.

“This museum, and the efforts of the Jewish War Veterans more broadly, provides reminders and inspiring examples of Jewish Americans serving in the military to promote America’s promise and values,” says North Campus Principal Lisa Schopf. 

We are grateful for the experience this week to learn about and feel proud of the ways individuals have worked collectively, giving of themselves to support ideals and to bring about safety and security in the world. We send gratitude to all who serve and have served.