Students from St. Isidore Catholic School and Chesterton Academy of the Most Holy Eucharist assist with unfurling a massive American flag under the guidance of American Legion Post 705 during Catholic Schools Week. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Students at Saint Isidore Catholic School took part in a rare patriotic display Tuesday, Jan. 27, helping unfurl a massive 42-by-80-foot American flag during a ceremony led by American Legion Post 705.

Nearly the entire student body was needed to accomplish the task, including 105 grade-school students and about 16 high school students from Chesterton Academy of the Most Holy Eucharist. The flag’s size required additional support from at least a dozen tables placed beneath it to keep the fabric elevated and prevent strain on the students.

“This is the biggest flag we’ve ever gotten. We have two of them,” said Mark Carlson, commander of American Legion Post 705. “I didn’t sleep for two nights worrying about how I was going to have these kids fold the flag without pulling too much weight. Thankfully, the engineer in me came out and I thought to use tables. Even in the Legion hall, we used tables so we didn’t have to work from the ground.”

To ensure the ceremony went smoothly, the American Legion hosted a practice run at the school on Friday, Jan. 23. Carlson said the flag had originally been turned in to be retired from Yuba City Camping World during its store closure, part of roughly 10,000 flags collected in 2025.

“They got turned in and my Boy Scouts folded them up in a triangle, and I had them in the recycling,” Carlson said. “They showed me a picture of them before folding and I thought, ‘Oh shoot,’ so I went and pulled them back out.”

A student waits for classmates to take their positions during preparations to unfurl the American flag at St. Isidore Catholic School. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

New, a flag of that size can cost upward of $5,000. Its appearance at St. Isidore Catholic School marked the Legion’s first public use of the massive flag, an event Carlson said they hope to replicate during future community ceremonies, including planned celebrations tied to the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary.

“Every year during Catholic Schools Week, we do some sort of patriotic event,” said Susan Burky, principal of St. Isidore Catholic School and head of school for Chesterton Academy of the Most Holy Eucharist. “The reason we’re doing this is because patriotism is a virtue, and that’s kind of the heart of what we teach here.”

Catholic Schools Week is observed nationwide in late January and is designed to celebrate the value of Catholic education, highlighting faith, service, community and academic excellence. At St. Isidore Catholic School, the week included a tribute to local Right to Life groups on Monday, a day honoring nations on Tuesday, volunteer appreciation on Wednesday, vocations on Thursday and a celebration of students and the broader school community on Friday.

“It’s a big week, and we’re a big family,” said Jim Orlando, a teacher at St. Isidore Catholic School. “This is just one of the ways we build that sense of community.”

The flag ceremony began with an opening prayer, followed by the careful unfurling of the flag under Orlando’s direction as students moved slowly, one stripe and color at a time, ensuring the fabric remained straight and taut. Once fully unfurled, a bugle player performed taps while students held the flag aloft, and the youngest classes led the group in patriotic songs.

The flag was then methodically re-rolled and placed into a cart by members of the American Legion, who ensured it never touched the ground, bringing the ceremony to a close with the same care and respect with which it began.