The "Heroes" of Global School

At one time or another, all of us probably wanted to be a fireman. While I don't recall if I ever voiced such a thought, there is fading photographic evidence of me as a toddler still in diapers wearing a fireman's hat - and despite numerous requests I am not publishing it here. There is just something about the wail of the sirens and riding on a fast-moving truck, breaking out the hoses and extinguishing a burning building, or perhaps simply a love of dalmations that attracts all of us as children to this particular vocation.

Needless to say, while our vision of the glories of fighting fires may have dimmed over the years, our appreciation for their real tasks has increased a hundred fold. As if the courage and tragedy exemplified by the events of 9/11 were not enough to accomplish this task, many of us have personal knowledge or experience with the day in and day out dedication, hard work, and sometimes life threatening accomplishments of the thousands of men and women who protect us in our homes, businesses, and properties. If heroes are defined by their willingness to risk all for the sake of others, than firemen should be at or near the top of any such list.

It is in recognizing firemen for their role as heroes in our community, that Global School students recently joined with the Saratoga Village Branch of Bank of America as part of their tribute to "Honor Our Heroes". Organized by Global School art teacher, Jennifer Dickson-Child and Director of Admission, Susannah Vaughan, GSSV students and the Bank's volunteer, Krissy, worked with the local Saratoga Firehouse and San Jose Engine 9 to create personal portraits of the firemen from each station. The children interpreted individual photos of each fireman from the station walls, and the end result is a fantastic display of creativity and excitement, mounted with great enthusiasm on the wall of our multi-purpose room. Here, students and guests can not only view the final results, Ms. Dickson-Child has also numbered the portraits and lettered the photographs so that visitors can participate in a contest to match each portrait with the proper photo.

This is not just a simple art project, rather the combined efforts of the Bank of America, our local firehouses, and the staff at Global School have allowed our students to go beyond the usual exercise and gain a deeper appreciation of what a fireman's professional life consists of, as well as of the role that firemen play in all of our lives. In an all school assembly in the near future, the firemen involved will be presented their new portraits in person from each student. Hopefully, in return our students will visit the firehouses later this year and see their portraits hanging alongside the firemen's original photos.

Though there was not a single dalmatian to be found at either fire station, the students had a wonderful time completing the project. More importantly, the project was an excellent illustration of our school values of cooperation, community involvement, and learning - all in one project. Simply put, just another day at the Global School of Silicon Valley . . .