Naperville Central celebrated Veterans Day on Nov. 10 through an assembly that was held both in-person and streamed online. 

Seniors gathered in the auditorium, while underclassmen watched a livestream of the assembly in their homerooms. Central’s Wind Ensemble and choir performed. 

Mike Bochenski, social studies teacher and Veterans Club sponsor, said that this year’s celebration went very well. 

“I will say that our band and choir were particularly excellent as per usual,” Bochenski said. “Our IT tech crew did an amazing job to get the assembly live to the rest of the school. I’m also very grateful to Principal [Jackie Thornton] for managing [the event] and being such a gracious host.”

The livestreaming of the assembly had never done before.

“I thought it was groundbreaking,” social studies teacher Mike Wilson said. 

Bochenski also said that both organizers and veterans were extremely pleased with the in-person audience. At the end of the assembly, many students came onstage to personally thank the veterans for their service. 

Veterans Club co-president senior Riley McGrath said that she liked how the assembly turned out this year, but there are some changes that students would like to see next year. 

“It would’ve been interesting to hear more from the veterans present – whether in the form of more speeches or by sharing more information about when and where each veteran served,” McGrath said. “I would imagine that content might be added to make sure we fill the entire class period. But as for format, it will be up to administration and club leadership next year to determine if the assembly will stay hybrid or if all students will participate in-person.”

Both students and teachers enjoyed this year’s Veterans Day celebration and think it turned out as a success.

“We haven’t done the assembly in over two years, and it felt very special because they gathered just the seniors in the auditorium,” senior Maria Rodriguez said. “It felt more intimate this way. But the idea of live-streaming so that all the other students could see the celebration too was very thoughtful, and in my opinion it’s a wonderful tradition.”