In honor of Veterans Day, Forest Avenue students participated in a variety of activities to recognize and thank the nation’s veterans. During one such activity, fourth-graders used computers to write diamante poems for veterans, thanking them for preserving the country’s freedoms.

A diamante poem is a diamond-shaped poem that uses nouns on the first and last lines, adjectives on the second and fourth lines and gerunds on the third and fifth lines. A gerund is a nonfinite verb form that functions as a noun and ends in “ing.”

School librarian Andrea Francisco then hand-delivered the packet of poems filled with heartfelt thanks to the veterans residing at the Stony Brook University Veterans Hospital.