Students at Arcola School celebrated Flag Day Feb. 15 with an unique twist: the flag they raised to the top of the pole had flown at the Parliament Building in Ottawa.
Judy Naylen, the grade four teacher in Arcola School, teaches her students about Flag Day each year, and this time as she prepared her lessons, she came across the Parliament Hill website, which led the school to becoming a recipient of the flag.
"It intrigued me that perhaps our school could be put on a waiting list for one of the flags that had flown at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa," says Naylen. "I emailed our request and within a week received an email with the approval of us receiving the East Block flag."
According to the website, the wait for receiving a flag was 19 years - a long time considering students only attend school for 13 years. Therefore, Naylen and her grade four class were surprised to learn they would receive a flag in time to celebrate Flag Day on Feb. 15.
Naylen organized a flag rising ceremony outdoors just after lunch on Feb. 15, at which time the flag was unveiled to the students. They became excited when they saw the flag rise up the pole, knowing its significance.
Students and staff sang O'Canada as the flag rose, and afterwards went inside to do Flag Day-related activities.
