Gunston Honors Military Connected Children

Gunston celebrated the Military-Connected-Child with breakfast. Mrs Rucinski gave a beautiful talk about what a military connected child faces and their maturity beyond their years.  She expressed our gratitude at Gunston for these responsible resilient children.   A delicious feast with families was the start to a celebratory program this morning. Students wore purple and shared experiences and feelings about being a youth in an military family.  Students were well versed in the benefits and costs of their positions and happy to talk about them.  

When asked what it meant to be a military connected child, some students responded:

"At any moment our family could be called to move and so we have learned to bloom where we are planted."

"Sometimes I am sad because when we move, I lose my friends"

"It can be kind of scary because I have to go to a new school"

"Feels special because I see my mom work very hard and I get to appreciate that."

"Being a military child is cool because you get to move around the world and see different places all the time"

Students were asked about their favorite places to live when they had to move:

• Japan
• California
• Germany
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Italy
• Michigan
• Hawaii
• Florida
• Texas

• Here in Virginia because I love Gunston

   

They also shared some of the skills they gained from their military family lives

   "Loyalty and resilience"

   "Good at saying goodbye"

   "Learn to respect all people and have independence"

   "Perseverence from moving and leaving people we care about behind"

  "I learned to be flexible"

  "Making new friends"

  "I'm good at moving"

  "I am always learning about new cultures"

It was heartwarming to hear them talk about bearing their responsibilities gracefully. 

Gunston is grateful to Mrs Garcia, our parent liaison and parent of military connected children, who led the set up for an amazing breakfast and Mrs Schroeder for helping to get this program organized.

Thanks to all the local businesses that helped make our Gunston breakfast special. 

• Starbucks of Lorton
• Nothing BundtCakes of Springfield
• Amazon Fresh of Lorton
• Wegmans of Alexandria
• Costco in Woodbridge, Lorton and Springfield
• Food Lion of Lorton