School Story Submissions

Westmount High School: Experience in Israel

Todah - An Awesome Experience in Israel
By Sabrina Jafralie, Teacher - Ethics and Religious Culture

My trip to Israel last summer, via the Teaching of the Holocaust for Educators
(T-H-E) program was life changing. It not only opened my mind, but also my heart. And for that, I am grateful.

I am interested in the Shoah (Holocaust) because I am interested in humanity. I believe that protecting our own humanity, as well as the future of students’ humanity, is one of the biggest task for teachers.

Being an Ethics and Religious Culture teacher at Westmount High School, it is easy to see that our shared foundation is our humanity, diversity and respect. Westmount High is unique because we genuinely experience religious, racial, cultural and ethnic harmony and is the perfect breeding ground to understand how to honour and respect one another’s humanity and right to live peacefully and without persecution. So, when I was given the golden opportunity to get first hand experiences of Israel, which is often misrepresented as war zone, I jumped at the chance! Israel is actually a centre of blossoming peace. And even if there were some conflicts, then I am not one to shy away from anything tension. I applied to the T-H-E Program and luckily I was one of the recipients of the Riva and Thomas Hecht Scholarship. So, I was on my way to Israel.

Upon my arrival in Israel, I soon realized that was in a sacred place and time. One of the reasons Israel is so special to me is that it holds a special place for me in my life. I believe those lands are truly blessed and touched by God. And for me to be able to be in God’s holy land was a blessing.

After my initial star struck and jet lag, the Yad Vashem Education Series started on a bright Sunday morning. The Shoah education program is 23 days and classes are held at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem. This is an intense, yet essential, Holocaust education program. Throughout our time at Yad Vashem in Israel, we were constantly exposed to life.
When most people think about the Shoah, they do not think about life. We often think about the death, concentration camps and human atrocities that occurred during the Shoah. Yet, at Yad Vashem, their focus and our focus was and still is life. We did not take part in a program about people who were murdered. Instead we were educated and about how Jewish people, before the Shoah, lived their lives and trust me, these pre=war Jewish communities were vibrant and alive!!

Honestly, my head is still swelling with information and emotions. I am still in the process of digesting the entire trip and experience. Yet, one thing that sticks out for me is the importance of responsibility. One lesson that struck me to my cord during my time there was the one of the bystander. It infuriated, saddened and boggled to know that at some point in history, and presently that we hang up our humanity and watch other humans destroy and steal life from others.

In Israel, I wanted and needed to believe that we as humans could not stand by and watch others self-destruct through the murder of others. As a result of this passion not to be a bystander, I knew I wanted to communicate this message to my students – we do not have to be bystanders! To help me build on my teaching on not being a bystander, I researched the Righteous Among Nations in Yad Vashem. During the Shoah, there were people, non –Jews, who took great personal risks and endangered their families to help or hide a Jew or their families. I found the hope that I desperately needed at this point of the trip. I had the chance to meet Shoah survivors that were hidden or save and listen to their stories about survival. Their testimonies were inspirational, and I was in awe of their capacity to share their tragedies with us and to move forward. The desire to live and learn is so obvious in the Yad Vashem program and as a participant you are looking for hope even the darkest corners. I want and preparing to help my students to learn how they can help even in the most desperate situations.

My trip to Israel rejuvenated my power to act, to choose the best way to act for me and just do it. All of our actions, though different are powerful, and all make an impact. I hope that I can instil in my students the same essence that was instilled in me, that by standing is not an option. Israel was a trip of a lifetime and I can only hope that I will get to visit this fantastic country again!!!

Roslyn: Fight for Freedom

Roslyn students “Fight for Freedom”
By Lysanne Abelardo 

"Fight For Freedom,"   yelled the students as they raised their hands together in a cheer. This triumphant moment is how the  Grades 3 and 4 students from room 114 at Roslyn Elementary School in Westmount wrap up every weekly meeting for their fight against poverty.
 This remarkable moment began when a couple of my students got together one day and questioned the meaning of poverty and its existence in our world. After discussing its meaning, they realized the importance of helping people in need and they knew that they had to take part in ending world poverty and in saving human lives. Students Sierra Giustini and Elizabeth Miechkota approached their parents for adult support with this project. Parents Debbi Jardine, Rebecca Lee, and Brooke Miechkota proposed to make this into a class project and eventually a school project. As the teacher of class 114, I believed that this ambitious mission would be a unique learning experience where my students would achieve great pride and a sense of fulfillment. I eagerly supported this wonderful cause and the worthwhile experience it would bring to my students. As the project was presented to the class, I watched my students’ eyes light up with enthusiasm, inspired to make a difference in the world. “Fight for Freedom!"  they all cheered at the end of their first meeting. Project “Fight for Freedom: Our Fight Against Poverty” was born.
 
Weekly meetings were held, where they discussed many ways on how they could help fight poverty. Their awareness of poverty was raised and they were introduced to several campaigns and networks that work to end poverty.  They were all determined to make a significant difference in their world. They began by visiting the website www.freerice.com, which is a sister site of the world poverty site poverty.com. Its goal is to fight world poverty through the teaching of English vocabulary. They do this by asking visitors the definitions of certain words and, for each question that is answered correctly, they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food program. My students visited this site weekly and in the process of doing so, learned many new words, and have raised a total of 207,470 grains of rice so far.
 They then developed an idea called “Net-working” to raise money to fight the horrible disease of Malaria in Africa. Special bed-nets covered in insecticide defend sleeping children against the bites of disease-carrying mosquitoes. For every $10.00 dollars they raise, one bed net is purchased and donated (through Spread the Net and UNICEF) to a family in Africa. In order to make this fundraiser personally meaningful to each student, my class asked all Roslyn students to do an individual chore in exchange for a donation of  $2 to $5. Their goal was to raise $500 to purchase 50 bed-nets. I am pleased to say that their goal has been attained!

The next phase of their Fight for Freedom project is called “Springtime at Roslyn." During their weekly Fight for Freedom meetings, the students from class 114 came up with many ideas on how to raise the money. They finally decided to sell potted spring flowers with their artwork on tags attached to pots for 5.00$ each. They worked hard on their springtime drawings and worked as a team to attach the tags on the flowerpots. Together they have decided to use the money raised to support Free the Children (www.freethechildren.com), the world’s largest organization of children helping children through education. The primary goals of this organization are to free children from poverty and exploitation and teach young people that they can effect positive change in the world. Specifically they decided to support the educational program aspect of Free the Children’s “Adopt a Village” campaign. This program provides all the necessary tools and resources for effective learning and health care services for children living in poverty. Finally, class 114 invited representative Gab Desmond from Free the Children to educate and to inspire all Roslyn students about thecharity.
Throughout this journey, I watched the Fight for Freedom project develop into a significant mission driven by the energy of young leaders and their parent supporters. The students of class 114 worked with enthusiasm, worked cooperatively, and displayed remarkable compassion—all in order to make a difference for families they did not even know. This is an experience they, nor I, will certainly never forget, and one they should certainly be proud of!!!

Justin Trudeau Visits St. Laurent Adult Centre

Click here for a student’s perspective