Third and fourth-graders at Greenville Elementary School are learning the meaning of patriotism.

On Monday, Sept. 19, GES celebrated its 'Constitution and Citizenship Day' with an 11 a.m. assembly.

"We are very fortunate to live in the United States of America," Betty McQueen, GES counselor, told the group of students.

The group heard some of the rights and privileges of American citizens in a special presentation given by a group of fourth-graders. Then, all the students participated in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and in singing several patriotic songs, including "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless the U.S.A." The students waved their flags, which they had made, at different times during the assembly.

Catherine Ann Boutwell, a fourth-grader at GES, said that she had learned that the Constitution was very important.

Terrilyn Jackson, another fourth-grader, said that she had learned how the Constitution was organized. Michael Meyers, also a GES fourth-grader, said that this week was important for the third-graders so they could learn things about the Constitution they didn't already know.

"This week's character education word at GES is 'citizenship,'" McQueen said. "The teachers will be doing all kinds of activities related to citizenship and to the Constitution all week, such as creative writing assignments and art projects."