CRESTVIEW — Just because April 15 was National Purple Up Day doesn’t mean some North Okaloosa County schools aren’t keeping the celebration going all month.
April is the Month of the Military Child, and at celebrations throughout area schools, special events like runs, parades and breakfasts told students whose parents are in the armed forces that their fellow students support them.
And there was purple. Lots of purple.
PHOTOS: View photos of Walker Elementary School's Purple Up Day>>
The color is a combination of Army green, Marine Corps red, and Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard blue, said Walker Elementary School’s military families coordinator, who, per safety rules, is unidentified.
“It’s really important to recognize that kids who have parents in the military make sacrifices too,” the coordinator said.
PURPLING UP
At Walker Elementary School, P.E. teachers had some fun with their April 21 Purple Up theme, showing up for class in garb including purple tutus, knee socks and fuzzy antennae.
“Nice tutu, Coach, nice tutu,” fourth-grader Carlton Herring told teacher Craig Yort.
“I’m so big it should be called a three-three,” Yort joked after Carlton had scurried back into formation.
At school celebrations, purple T-shirts, capes, skirts, caps and, for one Walker Owl, a purple toga showed support for military family classmates and students.
“Tutus to togas, that’s what it is,” Yort’s wife, Lynn, a Walker volunteer, observed.
At Bob Sikes Elementary, the Patriotic Pups club served breakfast to their military children friends on their school’s April 15 Purple Up day.
‘A BIG DEAL’
Weather, tests and student absences due to a school system-wide safety alert changed a few of the plans. Riverside Elementary School moved their parade indoors Friday, and Northwood Arts and Sciences Academy will reschedule theirs to a later date.
For former military members, seeing local schools recognize the sacrifices military kids make is gratifying, Craig Yort, a retired Air Force officer, said.
“This is a big deal for Crestview,” he said.
School administrators said recognizing their military family students is especially important in a school district in which many parents are serving and often are deployed.
“Our percentage of military children has grown,” Walker Principal Lorna Carnley said. “Originally we didn’t qualify for a Military Family Life Coordinator.”
April is the Month of the Military Child. This awareness month was established to underscore the important role children play in the Armed Forces community. There are approximately 2 million military children, ranging in ages from newborn to 18 years old; 1.3 million military children are school-aged. Care of military children sustains our fighting force, and strengthens the health, security, and safety of our nation's families and communities.
Source: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview area schools Purple Up for Month of the Military Child