America the Beautiful

The first trimester students have been working hard to complete pens for the November 7th deadline to support WOODCRAFT's TURN for TROOPS event in honor of Veterans Day. The pen packets were double checked to make sure the pens, letters, and DMS identification tags were complete. The final count was 30 finished pens and they were packaged and delivered Saturday afternoon to the nearby WOODCRAFT Store in East Greenwich, RI. They will be shipped out soon and given to troops overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. I would like to thank the staff members who have sponsored freedom pens to promote a sense of awareness and appreciation to those that are defending our country. Many thanks to Ms. Cody, Mrs. Bianchi, Mrs. Dewey, Mr. & Mrs. August, and Ms. Deignan for their support.

The Freedom Pens Project is an all volunteer effort spearheaded by the members of SawMill Creek Woodworkers Forums to provide custom hand crafted pens to American servicemen and women overseas. SawMill Creek welcomes anyone who is interested in our project and willing to donate their time, talent or services to assist us in our goal of providing beautiful writing instruments for our military stationed in foreign countries who are in harms way. Every Freedom Pen that is delivered will serve as a constant reminder to our troops that they are not alone and will have our continued support until every one of them returns home. I have decided to take on this challenge once again with my eighth-grade students during the entire school year. First trimester students are currently cutting blanks to size and getting them ready for the pen kits which we will have received from Penn State Industries. It is a very worthy cause and the students get to help out the troops overseas. I know that they will perform well and get the job done! The pictures below show student’s efforts to get these pens made to help to accomplish our mission of helping out the troops!!! Each student will be writing a letter to be included with their pen to show their support for freedom. Mr. B has made the first pen check it out in the slide show below. Student pictures are soon to follow so please stay tuned!!!!! Please click on the attachment below to view a copy of the letter which is being sent with every pen made.

2008-09 DMS students get recognized for their dedication and support to the Freedom Pen Project over the past school year. I am proud of our accomplishments and your devotion to our country and the people defending it. You guys and gals have been a pleasure to teach and I wish you the best as freshmen at NKHS!! Best of luck and I wish you all success in your future endeavors!! Mr. Berndt The importance of supporting and volunteering to help make things happen with the Freedon Pen Project can be summarized in the song "American Soldier" by Toby Keith. Please listen to the music and enjoy the message that this song delivers. Thank you for your patriotism.