Members of JAE’s 5th Grade Select Chorus “High Notes” shared the spirit of Flag Day with students and staff on June 13. During the morning announcements, the students performed the classic George M. Cohan patriotic song, “You’re A Grand Old Flag,” while also sharing some fun facts about Flag Day including:

-    On June 14th, 1777, Congress officially recognized the stars and stripes as America’s flag.
-    Flag Day was first observed in 1885, by a teacher in Wisconsin. Bernard Cigrand and his students set aside time to respect the flag on that day.
-    It wasn’t until 1916 that Flag Day became official, established by President Woodrow Wilson.
-    The American flag has a few nicknames: The Stars and Stripes, The Star-Spangled Banner, The Red, White, and Blue and Old Glory.
-    The American flag’s colors each represent something symbolic. Red represents valor, white represents purity, and blue represents perseverance.
-    There have been 27 different versions of the American flag. Each version has a different number of stars.
-    Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes Flag Day as a state holiday. That means an extra day off from school!

A congratulatory message from Rocky Point Music Department chairperson and choral director Mr. Craig Knapp read: “I’m very thankful for these High Notes students who came into school early this week to learn this song so quickly. Flag Day may be a lesser-known day of the year, but it’s been official for over 100 years. With Flag Day taking place over the weekend, we thought it would be fun to share this famous song by George M. Cohan to celebrate the American flag, while also sharing some important information about this special day. Special thanks to the following students: Casey Angelo, Ava Cacace, Stella Cheng, Layla Chudyk, Kendall Daly, Athena Heaney, Elizabeth Karpegiane-Ferreira, Michela Minardi, Kaitlin Neligon, Carina Nunziata, Serafina Sirico, Lacy Solomon, Haylee Stewart, Abigail Tully, Addison Voelker and Emma Wurm