Third graders inspire community with national anthem

Third grade students at Meyersdale Elementary School shared their talents and love of country during the Friday, October 3 Red Raider Varsity football game. This special performance has become a beloved tradition for third grade students, friends, family and the community!

Students sang the national anthem prior to the Homecoming football game against Northern Bedford. Mrs. Danyelle Burkholder, third grade teacher, said this annual performance came about several years ago when she and her colleagues recognized the zeal in which their students performed the song each morning before reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Based on the enthusiasm of the participants and their audience, this performance is a highlight of the football season.

“I could not be more proud of my students for standing up and doing their small part in our community to help bring people together through honor and love in singing the national anthem,” she explained.

Jessica Rosenberger and Jeffery Nicholson, who are also third grade teachers, said preparing the students for their performance was nearly as much fun as the event itself. They said the students enjoyed practicing and looked forward to showcasing their vocal talents.

“I am so proud that this performance has become a tradition for third graders to demonstrate their patriotism and that Mrs. Burkholder thought of this idea for our school,” Rosenberger added.

Our district’s new music teacher, Rachelle Linares, also helped students prepare for October 3 in the students’ music classes. In addition to the technical aspects of performing this selection, she emphasized the deep sense of patriotism that served as the foundation for our national anthem.

“In music class, third grade students prepared to sing the national anthem by learning musical concepts that apply to the song. Students are learning to find the strong beat and weak beats in a song and how “The Star-Spangled Banner” is written in a meter of 3. They learned that the “Star Spangled Banner” was written after the bombing of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. After 25 hours of bombing, Francis Scott Key observed that the flag was still standing and wrote a poem that eventually became our national anthem.”