Updated

There’s a lot going on in the minutes after the bell rings at South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky. If you slow the mad dash down and take a second to look around, you’ll notice something pretty special is happening.

Three high school juniors tend to the stars and stripes every day after class. In a process that’s shorter than the Star Spangled Banner or Pledge of Allegiance, Cameron Carroll, Cara McWhirk and Jack Koontz properly lower, tuck and fold the American flag.

bd532821-

Cara McWhirk, a junior at South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky, is one of the students that properly lowers, tucks and folds the American flag daily. (WDRB Media)

“There’s a lot of hidden meaning behind the things that you do, and folding it the proper way is one of those things,” Koontz said.

The process isn’t a school project, and a teacher didn’t ask for volunteers to do it. The story starts last year around the holidays with Carroll.

8011e35b-

The three high school juniors who tend to the flag daily at South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky all come from military families. (WDRB Media)

“I saw the flag being lowered, and the janitor just kind of put the flag under his arm,” Carroll said. “I kind of couldn’t stand for that.”

Carroll wrote a letter to the principal and enlisted the help of her friends, who also come from military families. Their patriotic passion is now a daily event. It’s also recognized as one of the high school’s newest clubs called “Friends of the Flag.”

“It’s really about respect, I think,” McWhirk said.

702c9d83-

The patriotic passion of the three high school juniors who tend to the flag daily at South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky is now recognized as one of the high school’s newest clubs called “Friends of the Flag.” (WDRB Media)

Carroll, McWhirk and Koontz will graduate in less than two years but said they’re already talking to some underclassmen about taking over their patriotic duties.

“It makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my community, and it makes me happy,” Carroll said.

This story originally appeared on WDRB.