Country School Honors Heroes at Sept. 11 Day of Service and Remembrance

New Canaan Country School gathered as a community to participate in the national Sept. 11 Day of Service & Remembrance on Friday, Sept. 12. The entire student and faculty body came together around the flagpole as Interim Head of School Peter O’Neill led the annual ceremonial opening of school. This year, the gathering also launched the school’s Day of Service. Following the flagpole ceremony, students heard from a variety of speakers and participated in meaningful service activities all across campus. The theme of the day is Sung, Unsung and Future Heroes/Sheroes and students learned about heroic stories from this important time in history. 
“They learned about powerful stories from our invited guests, it is our hope that students will be inspired to serve and to search for positive outcomes through community building,” said Director of Community Development Lynn Sullivan, who organized the day’s events along with the school’s Faculty Service Learning Committee. "Students were able to identify examples of NCCS mission skills employed in the stories and perspectives they heard on that day – resilience, teamwork, ethics, curiosity, creativity and time management."
 
The Upper School hosted Alison Crowther, mother of Welles Crowther a fallen hero who saved at least a dozen lives during the 9/11 attacks before losing his own. He has become known as "The Man in the Red Bandana" for his courageous actions. Crowther's mother created the Red Bandana Project, a character development program for classrooms, sports teams, camps and youth programs.
 
Middle School students met with Vernoy Paolini, Director of the Red Bandana Foundation and veteran teacher. She read and talked about “14 Cows for America,” an illustrated children’s book about a gift of 14 cows given by the Maasai people of Kenya to United States as a gesture of comfort and friendship in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
 
The Lower School learned about the role of first responder canines and how the canine community commits acts of service meeting a range of needs. Students heard from a panel of representatives from Guiding Eyes for The Blind, the Greenwich Police Department K-9 Unit and Therapy Dogs International.
 
Each of the presentations was followed by related service activities for students in Grades 1-9. Invited guests from local emergency response organizations also participated in the day’s events.

View photos from the event.
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.