Harbour View Elementary School recalls Sept. 11 attacks

Shaina Maginot was 5 years old the day her world changed.

In the early morning of Sept. 11, 2001 the young girl sat in front of the television and watched with her parents as airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center.

On Monday, Shaina and a handful of Harbour View Elementary School students shared their memories during a remembrance ceremony held at the school in honor of the fifth anniversary of the terrorists attacks.

In a poem she read at the assembly, fifth-grader Shaina described what it was like watching the events unfold before here thousands of miles away.

“I remember my parents in shock when we turned on the TV.

“I remember watching replays of the airplanes hitting the World Trade Center. I was scared for the family that I have living in New York.”

Being on the other side of the country from where the events occurred in 2001 did not seem to dilute the impact they had on these residents of Huntington Beach.

Those in attendance included Mayor Dave Sullivan, Huntington Beach firefighters and Long Beach Fire Chief David Ellis. About 1,200 children and their families attended the ceremony, waiving flags, singing songs and taking pictures.

Principal Roni Ellis said the purpose of the assemblies was to rekindle the patriotic experience for students and their families.

The remembrance consisted of a flag salute; singing the school song and “Proud to Be an American”; and an essay or poem read by a student or special guests, such as some of the city’s fire fighters who attended the assembly held in front of the school.

The moment the fire truck pulled into the parking lot in front of the school was a very powerful moment for the children, Ellis said.

Another powerful moment for the children came courtesy of Brian Metherell, whose child once attended Harbour View. He came to the assembly to show his gratitude to the school that offered his family support after the attacks.

Metherell lost 73 employees during the towers’ collapse that day. The school sent cards to the Metherells and many others affected in and out of New York City.

New student Jovan Djordjevic provided another intense moment. Jovan, who started attending Harbour View in September, and his family moved to Huntington from New York, where they lived at the time of the attacks.

The fourth-grader spoke at the assembly, describing his view from his home in Brooklyn where he witnessed the towers crash to the ground.

“I was looking out my bedroom window when I saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center,” Jovan said. “My mom is a doctor and was working at the hospital and was told to cancel all surgeries to help the injured.”

While too young to understand exactly what had happened, Jovan said he mother had explained to him “how sad the world was for us.”