SIOUX FALLS, S.D (KELO) — Veterans Day is Saturday, but some Sioux Falls School District students are already celebrating today.

Sonia Sotomayor principal Tracy Vic says their annual Veterans Day celebration honors the vets who have sacrificed so much.

Every year, students and staff at Sonia Sotomayor invite veterans from surrounding communities to celebrate Veterans Day.

“It feels pretty good. Because it shows like liberty,” said Trace Hathcock, 5th grader.

The student-led celebration includes musical performances and a brief history of Veterans Day.

“To scale it way back to what Veterans Day really means. We have teachers, staff here from 13 different countries. And when you talk to kids about the freedom that we’ve been given, I mean that that reflects the opportunity for us to have teachers from all over the world,” said NaTascha Krempges, IEP facilitator.

This year’s celebration was special. Around 50 vets gathered with their student family members to highlight their service. This is the largest number of veterans the school has ever had.

“It’s nice that the school here has for several years been showing us how much they appreciate our sacrifices and in turn the sacrifices of our families, because we’re obviously not the only ones that sacrifice when we go somewhere,” said John Davis, Staff Sergeant with the South Dakota Army National Guard.

Many of the students and staff have families of their own in the military, which is why celebrations like this are so important.

The event also included a walk of high fives, where students and military members formed what they call a long line of gratitude.