On Friday, May 24, students from Glen Hill Elementary School got to spend some time at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center engaging with – and learning from – seniors and veterans.

Seventeen students were from Lisa Davis’ classroom, and two were from Kathy Creighton's self-contained classroom.

The trip was held thanks to the generosity of the Rhode Island Foundation Spark Grants program and the late John and Leticia Carter.

According to Davis, the curriculum for third grade is focus on the community’s past and present. The field trip served an extension of that, with the students conducting interviews as well as learning about the military service of veterans.

“I learned that Memorial Day is way more than a party and having a day out of school,” student Kasen Gallant said.

“Memorial Day is a day to decorate and a day to honor our brave heroes,” student Jonathan Cardillo said.

The veterans shared information about the history of Memorial Day, made a patriotic wreath with the students, read the book “The Wall” about the Vietnam Memorial, sang a patriotic song and made a donation for the next Honor Flight.

“It was cool because we got to learn al all about the veterans and the wars they served in,” student Milania Carley said.

Davis was pleased with the visit.

“It was an amazing experience for the children,” she said. “The seniors were a wealth of knowledge and they were so proud and honored to share their stories … The most important lesson the students learned is etched on the Korean War Memorial, and that is freedom isn’t free.”