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Students To Recognize Local Heroes

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By MEGAN HUSSEY, Tribune correspondent

Published: September 9, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - In years past, as the nation remembered the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the thoughts of Seven Springs Middle School students turned to the people who lost their lives in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

This year, students will mark the anniversary by honoring local law officers, firefighters and first responders. During halftime at Tuesday's football home opener, students will present plaques and letters of appreciation to members of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Pasco Fire Rescue and the Florida Highway Patrol. Seven Springs cheerleaders will perform a flag ceremony and the school band will play patriotic songs.

Several band members will perform with country singer Michael Ray, who competed on last season's 'Nashville Star' TV show. Ray, who is Assistant Principal Phil Kupczyk's nephew, will perform 'Price of Freedom,' a song inspired by Sept. 11.

'It's an honor for me to do this,' Ray said. 'I have many paramedics, nurses and firefighters in my family. For me, this performance is payback for people who put their lives on the line for us.'

Last year, students sent letters to New York firefighters who worked at Ground Zero.

'The response was huge,' Kupczyk said. 'This year, we wanted to shift the focus, so students could recognize local first responders.'

Students have embraced this year's project, too. All social studies students are writing letters.

'For the kids, this puts a face on the people who provide them with a safe, secure environment in which to live,' said Leslie Frick, the seventh-grade social studies teacher overseeing the letter-writing project. 'They meet the people who fight to stop drugs in their community as much as possible and who provide education to keep kids safe.'

Beyond the letter-writing project, students have been learning about the jobs first responders do firsthand. Frick's husband, a vice and narcotics detective with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, speaks frequently at Great American Teach-In events. Other law enforcement officers and firefighters with children or relatives at Seven Springs Middle also have come to talk with students.

'When kids see these officers on campus, they become more familiar and comfortable with them,' Frick said.

While this year's project is about personalizing the work of first responders for students, the Sept. 11 anniversary is especially personal for the people they'll be honoring.

'The officers' involvement is something each of them is very serious about, to remember those who lost their lives during 9-11,' said Trooper Larry Coggins, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

This year's Sept. 11 project also will give students a deeper understanding of civic responsibility, Frick said.

'Activities like these help kids generate a whole sense of community and to learn that their thank-yous go a long way.'

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