Ville Platte Junior ROTC gives presentation at elementary school

The Ville Platte High School Junior ROTC cadets gave their first-ever presentations to elementary school students Thursday, April 3.
Workbooks and other materials used during the presentation were provided by the non-profit Junior Achievement.
Thirty-five of the 183 cadets at the school took part in the presentations. Teams of four cadets were assigned to classes arranged ahead of time. The cadets had practiced with two separate lesson plans, one for kindergarten and the other for first grade.
Junior Achievement and the Junior ROTC had been working on the program for about a month and a half before the first presentations. Lt. Col. Darryl Shamblin, the Junior ROTC senior Army instructor at Ville Platte High, said he would like the cadets to give the presentations at least once a year. He also said his Junior ROTC unit would also like to give presentations at other schools in the parish.
On Thursday, the cadets gave presentations to nine classes -- four kindergarten classes and five first-grade classes. Col. Shamblin said the Junior ROTC at Ville Platte has received teaching packets for the second grade, and the cadets will practice with them, then schedule presentations to those classes.
“It takes a lot of work to get ready,” for the presentations, Col. Shamblin said. “It really is breaking new ground.”
The 20-minute to 30-minute presentations stress traditional values, including leadership and health and wellness. The presentations are tailored to the age of the students, and involve the cadets reading and involving the elementary school students by asking questions and leading in classroom activities.
In charge of preparing the cadets before their first presentations was cadet Lt. Col. Shabby Moore. Col. Shamblin has been with the Ville Platte High Junior ROTC program for three years. The other uniformed adult at the school is the Army instructor, Sgt. 1st Class Charles Sampson, who has served 20 years active duty and eight years in the reserves. He has been with the school’s Junior ROTC program for seven years.
As the cadets checked over each other’s uniforms and prepared to leave the Junior ROTC building, Col. Shamblin said loudly, “It’s our time to shine.” He said, “We’ve got a good program.”