The Signal: Soldiers Offer Extra Parental Guidance for Van Bokkelen Students

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. -- Balancing a plastic ball on a wooden spoon, 9-year-old Antonio Parke ran down the halls of Van Bokkelen Elementary School.

“ Carnival!” the fourth- grader exclaimed as he ran past a group of laughing Soldiers from Fort Meade’s Signal Corps Regimental Noncommissioned Officer Academy Detachment.

For Antonio and his 70 fellow schoolmates, July 28 was an afternoon of sports, face painting, three-legged races, arm wrestling and even bowling.

The program was part of Van Bokkelen’s last day of summer school “Under the Big Top” celebration, organized by the NCO Academy.

“It’s good the Soldiers come out here and inspire the kids,” said J. Joseph, a retired Army artilleryman who brought his two children. “It shows them that instead of getting into mischief on the streets, they can do something to better themselves.”

The underfunded Severn school is located less than two miles from the post’s main gate. Although Van Bokkelen has many military Families, it was the only school in the area not to have a military sponsor until Sgt. 1st Class Rogelio Sifuentes enrolled his son Jeriel in the school’s pre-kindergarten program last fall.

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