USJ students celebrate national anthem

JACKSON, Tenn. — Thursday is the 203rd anniversary of the writing of the poem that would become the U.S. national anthem. One local school celebrated.

“We’re celebrating our National Anthem Project,” Elizabeth Atkins, a music teacher at University School of Jackson, said. “It is something we like to do every year.”

The National Anthem Project was started in 2005 as a way to get more people to know the words to the U.S. national anthem and the history behind it. Teachers and students have been preparing for this day since school started this year.

“Sharing the story of the circumstances surrounding Francis Scott Key and the War of 1812,” Atkins said. “They learn about the Battle of Fort McHenry and what the night was like for him.”

Fifth graders at USJ got to tell the story of the night Key wrote his famous poem to the rest of the school.

“I was speaking about Dr. Beans and how he helped the British soldiers when Americans captured them,” Harrison Shankle, a fifth grader at USJ, said.

“I like the part where he sees the flag and it’s the United States’, because if it was the British flag then he probably wouldn’t have wrote the national anthem because we wouldn’t have won,” Reyn Montgomery, a USJ fifth grader, said.

Teachers said they love seeing the kids participate and learn about American history.

“This day is always so inspirational,” Atkins said. “It doesn’t take very long, but to see all the children in the lower school turn and face the flag with their hands over their hearts, it’s just really, really inspiring.”