A Message from the Principal 

On November 2nd, Mrs. Coffey and Mr. Mendes organized an early Veteran’s Day assembly here at LPS. Andover did not want the actual day itself falling on Teachers Convention to stop us from honoring our heroes! The Social Studies Department started this annual tradition last year as the first major in school assembly since the pandemic and was excited to continue the tradition this year. Letters went home to families that invited any local veterans to come and attend.

Here is a list of local heroes that we were honored to host during this year's assembly:

1. Sergeant Kyle Lewis, Marine, Served from 1999-2003. Part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served in Kosovo and Liberia. Thank you for your service.
2. James Seeger, Staff Sergeant, Army. He served from 2001 - 2015. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom as part of a Special Operations Team that helped encourage self-government in Iraq.
3. Warren Lang served in the Navy from 1965 - 1969 and served in the Army National Guard for 30 years.
4. Ed Richardson served as a 2nd class petty officer in the Navy. He was an aviation ordinance man and was on an aircraft carrier called the USS Oriskany.

We also once again were treated to Korean War and Air Force veteran Paul Koch as our keynote speaker for a second consecutive year. This year, Mr. Koch emphasized as a German Immigrant how he was accepted in the US armed forces and did not feel like an “outsider”. He credited this to everyone sharing not only a goal but a reliance on one another. In addition, Mr. Koch also talked about how serving our country helped prepare him for a career in law, especially as a municipal judge. Mr. Koch credits the service for helping him grow an extra appreciation for core American values such as everyone deserving equal treatment under the law and love for the community. The students then participated in a Q&A session where our local veterans were asked to expand on their experiences, ranging from life on a naval ship to what it was like helping the Iraqi government set up a new government.

Earlier this year, the 5-8 grade Social Studies classes were involved in an essay contest about citizenship and heroism. The Social Studies Department scored each content submission and named two winners from every grade in addition to two overall winners of the school. The grade level winners are as follows:

5th Grade: Paige G. & Thor W.

6th Grade: Noah M. & Joaquin A.

7th Grade: Tess P. & Caulder T.

8th Grade: Autumn B. & Phoebe S.

We had many great submissions and it was incredibly difficult to name two overall winners but after much consideration, we were able to confidently name the 2022 LPS Veteran’s Day Essay Contest Winners.

One of the winners was Stephano D. who talked about how servicemembers in his personal life have given him an immense appreciation for anyone who has served. Stephano was one of the winners last year as well! The other winner was Natalie L. who wrote a passionate essay that expressed her love and respect for her father, a former Marine and a local hero that we hosted.

Our Music Department was also a big part of this assembly. Our varsity band, led by Mrs. Granholm, started off the assembly with a rendition of both America the Beautiful and The Star Spangled Banner. Our assembly concluded with Mr. Carle’s Choir program singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”.

The Andover community has a tremendous amount of respect for those who have served or who are actively serving in the military. This assembly is about recognizing their acts of heroism and giving them a simple but powerful message, “thank you”.