Photo By Sgt. Matthew Waymire | Sgt. Eddie Ellis Jr., motor transport operator, Headquarters and Headquarters Company,...... read more read more
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Soldiers of 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, volunteered to spend time with students of Centennial Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 8.
Sixteen “Lonestar” Soldiers went to the school to set up a mini carnival, interact with children and help teachers.
“When [students] see there are people here, they immediately want to know who they are and why they’re here,” said Heather Holloman, librarian, Centennial Elementary School. “It’s really cool to start at a young age to see authority figures like this in a positive way.”
Part of the volunteering involved Soldiers directly helping the students as if they were teachers’ assistants.
“I helped the librarian by getting the kids into the flow of everything because today was their first day signing out books,” said Sgt. Eddie Ellis Jr., motor transport operator, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd STB, 2nd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div. “I scanned all the books while she focused on everything else going on.”
Some of the students presented Ellis with stresses he doesn’t normally face at work.
“The second-graders were the most challenging when it came to keeping them focused while checking out books,” said Ellis. “I figured out that getting them to focus on the librarian’s instructions took away their distractions.”
School staff said students really appreciated the Soldiers’ presence.
“I’ve talked about different jobs with the kids and Soldier always comes up,” said Holloman. “These are heroes to them and they feel like they have celebrities visiting.”
In addition to the classroom participation, the Soldiers set up and helped supervise four stations at the school’s beginning of the year carnival.
Parents were happy to see their children interacting with the Soldiers during the festivities.
“I love that the kids are having fun,” said Whitney President, whose child attends Centennial Elementary School. “I love the fact that you guys are involved in the community, it’s a big positive.”
This is the first time Soldiers of 2nd ABCT, 4th Inf. Div., have visited a school since returning in July from a nine-month deployment in Kuwait. The unit plans to visits schools in the area monthly.
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2014 14:27 |
| Story ID: | 141957 |
| Location: | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US |
| Hometown: | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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