United States Army Specialist Shawn Stanton Visits Third Grade Classroom

Students in Rose Battaglia’s third grade classroom at K. C. Heffernan Elementary School received a special treat on Wednesday, March 9^th as United States Army Specialist Shawn Stanton visited their classroom. Battaglia’s third grade learners had sent letters and Christmas cards, in November, to Stanton’s Fort Drum Unit who were on assignment in Afghanistan. The classroom visit was facilitated by Megan Colle/Marcellus Senior High School student and Kristin Colle/Marcellus graduate. Stanton presented the students with an overview of life in the military and of his experiences as a soldier stationed in Afghanistan. He shared information about life on his army post, Afghan culture, geography and weather, army food and diet, and recreation activities. Specialist Stanton is on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan and he has re-enlisted for an additional six years in the service. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and their inquiries focused on “What do you do in the army?”, “What was your training like?”, “Do you have a computer?”, and “What do you do for fun?”. Stanton responded to the student questions by sharing that he refuels aircrafts (helicopters) and that he uses a computer to “skype” with friends and family at home. His basic training took eight weeks and was completed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Specialist Stanton is home on leave for a few weeks and is returning to Afghanistan on March 20^th. A very special thanks goes out to United States Army Specialist Shawn Stanton for the taking the time to share his experiences with the very interested and attentive third grade students in Battaglia’s class.