Local Schools Remember Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks

Although they were only toddlers when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, students at Randall Middle School on FishHawk Boulevard, are determined that the 2,986 victims will never be forgotten.

For the fourth year, members of teacher Kristy Verdi's Randall Area Youth Service Council will pay tribute to those who perished on 9/11 by creating a memorial in front of the school.

The students have created markers for each victim that the student body will plant on the school grounds to create a giant American flag. Throughout the day today, every class at the middle school will spend time inserting the markers in the ground.

This year, after the flag has been finished, a lift truck will be used to capture the image from above.

Last year the R.A.Y.S. Council won a national award from KidsVoting USA for the project, which will remain up through Friday.

At Nelson Elementary School, students will gather today in the courtyard to remember and honor the heroes of 9/11. During the ceremony, called "Ribbons to Remember," students will place red, white, blue and yellow ribbons on four trees with the help of military parents. The Durant High School JROTC color guard will present the colors.

At Mulrennan Middle School, students will create poems from articles they read related to 9/11 and sign a banner in the cafeteria affirming that they will never forget the victims. The school also will fly the "Flag of Honor," an American flag purchased at Ground Zero that contains the names of all who perished during the terrorist attacks.