September 16, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

One year later – GPISD remembers
September 11th attack

     It was a day like no other – September 11, 2002 – a day to honor the first anniversary of the attack on America. To mark the somber occasion, students from North Shore Senior High School, North Shore Middle, Havard Elementary, parents, administrators and community members packed the district athletic stadium for a year of remembrance ceremony. A sea of red, white and blue covered the stands. American flags waved in the morning breeze as patriotic music set the tone for the remembrance ceremony.
     As the audience fell silent, the North Shore High School JROTC raised the American flag, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem.
     “Our flag and anthem stand for freedom and that’s why we’re here today,”
Genevieve Espree, North Shore Senior High, senior, said.
     Espree performed a patriotic reading from the poem The Lady, which gave a voice to the Statue of Liberty as she stood on Ellis Island witnessing the attack.
     A slide show flashed images of the attacks on the large stadium video screen. North Shore Middle School students also produced a video for the ceremony. The innocent voices of children from Havard Elementary narrated the video, which brought tears to the eyes of many.
     “We’re showing pride in our country by remembering all of those who died on this day last year,”
Walter Sosa, Galena Park High, junior, said. “Everyone is remembering how great this country is.”
     As the audience sang God Bless America, students unfurled a large American flag for everyone to see. Two bugle players performed Taps and members of the Cloverleaf volunteer fire department lowered the American flag to half-staff, which concluded the remembrance ceremony.
     Espree said the ceremony symbolizes unity. “We’ve come together as a nation. We don’t take as many things for granted as we did before the attacks.”
     Although the devastating events of last year changed the outlook of our great nation, students in GPISD are hopeful and looking forward to the future.
     “We’ve changed drastically,” Sosa said. “We’re united and we’re working together. We live in a free nation with many opportunities. That’s what it means to be an American.”