Military Helicopter Makes Campbell Kids Scream with Excitement

A military helicopter hovered over Campbell Avenue Monday afternoon, and slowly, to the sound of screaming children lowered itself onto the Moreland School District field.

"My son, Jayden Castellano, is a second grader there and he loved it," says Jason Castellano, parent at Campbell Christian School. "He thought it was so cool. I heard a lot of the kids say that's what they want to do when they got older."

Around 1:00 p.m. on Oct. 24, Campbell Christian School organized an event with school parents to have a rescue helicopter land onto the school field, which it leases from Moreland between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and show students what they can accomplish if they made the right life choices.

The aircraft landed about 100 yards away from the students and, once on the ground, students were able to stick their heads inside and pose for pictures with the crew.

"It helped hit home," Castellano says. "I was able to talk to him about that, that there's always going to be that pressure, but if you do that, you won’t be able to succeed. He said to me, 'you’re right.'"

The event was organized by the school and a group of parents that are search and rescue workers themselves with the 129th Rescue Wing. It coincides with the school's drug awareness week, but because of their younger audience (kinder through sixth grade) the emphasis is mostly about making good choices and that includes lots of things in life: school in general, listening to your parents, and so on.

"The pilot shared how positive choices and staying focused in school allowed him to live out his dream and encouraged students to do the same,"  says Campbell Christian School parent Adelle Gabrielson.

The school also invited Action Day, its neighbor as well as 120 homes surrounding the school. The announcement of the event was also made to its church congregation

"It was a good time, a chance for children with parents involved to be acknowledged by the school community," says Campbell Christian School Vice Principal Melissa Sisson. "We’re community helpers, we all have different jobs and we have to help each other."