Faculty, veterans and community · For principals, activities directors and student council advisors
A Veterans Day display for schools that welcomes your guests by name
On November 11 the gym fills with veterans, families and students. Put this year’s guests, the program and your students’ letters on the lobby touchscreen, and keep each year’s ceremony for the next.
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What is a Veterans Day display for schools?
A Veterans Day display for schools is a November exhibit that thanks veterans connected to the school, often with guest names, student letters and the assembly program in the gym lobby or front hall. HistoryShowcase lets staff give each guest a touchscreen profile, add scanned student letters, and keep every year’s ceremony as its own collection for next November.
Updated
- Made for
- Principals, activities directors and student council advisors
- Where schools put it
- Gym or auditorium lobby, Cafeteria, Family email
- Layouts
- Portrait gallery, Timeline, Photo gallery
- Visitors can filter by
- Branch, Class, Year
- Cost
- Free to use. No payment details required.
The assembly is one morning. The welcome can last all week.
Veterans Day assemblies take weeks of work: invitations to grandparents and neighbors, the band learning the service songs, classes writing thank-you letters, a slideshow someone builds the night before. Guests arrive, sit in the bleachers and are thanked as a group. Afterward the letters go home and the slideshow sits on one laptop.
A Veterans Day display gives each guest a moment of their own. Before the assembly, invited veterans share their branch, years of service and a photo, and each gets a profile. On the day, guests and families find themselves on the lobby touchscreen, students read about the people they are thanking, and next November the past ceremonies are still there.
How does a Veterans Day display for schools compare with an assembly slideshow?
| What matters | Assembly slideshow | HistoryShowcase |
|---|---|---|
| How guests are thanked | Shown together on timed slides | Each guest has a profile of their own |
| Student letters | Sent home after the assembly | Scanned and grouped by class |
| Next November | Kept wherever the file was saved | Past ceremonies stay as collections |
| Families who missed it | Need a copy of the file | Open the published web address |
What to feature on a Veterans Day display
This year’s veteran guests
Each guest’s name, branch and years of service and, if they like, their connection to a student, such as grandparent, parent or neighbor.
The assembly program
The order of the ceremony: the color guard, the anthem, the speaker, the service songs and the moment of silence, so guests can follow along.
Student letters and artwork
Scanned thank-you letters and drawings, arranged by class, so guests can read what students wrote to them.
A page for each branch
A short entry about each branch of service, written by an older class, for the moment veterans stand as their song is played.
Past ceremonies
Photos from earlier assemblies, one collection per year, so returning guests can find themselves and the display grows each November.
Setting up the Veterans Day collections
Make one collection for this year and a home for past ceremonies. The Photo gallery layout suits letters and artwork.
Your siteVeterans Day
- This year’s guestsPortrait gallery
One portrait per guest, with branch and years of service in the subtitle.
- Assembly programTimeline
Each part of the ceremony in order, from the color guard to the closing song.
- Student lettersPhoto gallery
Scanned letters and drawings, grouped by class.
- Past ceremoniesPhoto gallery
A sub-collection for each year’s assembly photos and guests.
Visitors can narrow it by
- Branch
- Class
- Year
How do you prepare a Veterans Day display for schools?
Ask guests for a few details
Add a line to the invitation asking for branch, years of service and a photo. Type replies in, or collect them in a spreadsheet to import.
Scan letters the week before
Photograph student letters and artwork as classes finish them and add them to the draft. Preview the whole display on the lobby touchscreen.
Publish the morning of
Publish before guests arrive. Afterward, move this year’s guests into Past ceremonies so the collection is ready for next November.
Where should a Veterans Day display go?
- Gym or auditorium lobbyGuests see their names as they arrive for the assembly.
- CafeteriaWhere many schools host a breakfast for veteran guests before the ceremony.
- Family emailSend the published address so relatives who couldn’t attend can see the guests and letters.
Veterans Day display questions
How far ahead should we start?
Two or three weeks is enough. Set up the collections early, add guests as replies arrive, and keep everything in a private draft until you publish on the day.
What if a guest doesn’t want to be featured?
Leave them out, or show only their name and branch. Ask on the invitation, and respect each guest’s choice.
Can we reuse it next year?
Yes. Keep each past assembly as its own collection and add a new guest collection each fall. Returning veterans can find themselves in earlier years.
How is this different from a veterans wall of honor?
This display is for the assembly and the guests in your gym this year, many of them family members. A wall of honor is a permanent record of graduates and staff who served. Many schools build both.
Related ideas
Welcome every veteran to the assembly
Free to use. No payment details required.
