When the siren went off in the hallways and classrooms of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls on Thursday, April 28, students and teachers stood in silence, reflecting on those who had lost their lives in the Holocaust. Adding to the solemnity of the day, posters and original student art depicting the World War II war years were on display throughout the school.

MTA hosted programming to commemorate Yom HaShoah, enabling talmidim to engage in meaningful learning about the Holocaust, and lit six candles to honor the lives of the six million Jews who perished, Hy”d, whose memories will never be forgotten.

On the Day of Remembrance, HANC, along with Jews all over the world, honored the soldiers who risked, and lost their lives, for us and Israel. Every year, Morah Aronowitz and her class put on a meaningful production to educate and remember those who perished. Combined with the effort of Morah Aronowitz, Mrs. Fredman, and her students, the day was impactful and tapped into all who listened. The stories of Shawn, who was a soldier who wrote letters before the war, and lost his life in the process, the songs and instruments played by students, and the deep poems that touched everyone’s hearts. Thinking about all the parents who lost their children, and all the children who lost their parents, and everyone who may have lost a friend or someone they were close to. Although it was a day to remember, and a hard period to recall, it was extremely important. Many of us may not know of someone who was lost during that time, but every one of us was hit with each powerful word as we commemorated the heroes of the past.

Bnos Malka Academy had the honor of hearing from Mr. Yani Halpert on Yom HaShoah, where he shared his experience during the Holocaust. Mr. Halpert, born in Slovakia, survived the war as a child in hiding, together with his family. Using maps, he showed the route of his journey. “The places and towns are all foreign to the girls. The maps can give them a sense of where we hid in the forests and how far we had traveled.”

At Lev Chana, teachers were surprised with treats throughout the week, including coffee and cakes, Berrylicious ice cream cake, and lunch from Central Perk. HALB Elementary had a sign out front, lunch from Central Perk, coffee and cake, and a room service cart filled with goodies that Administrators brought from classroom to classroom. Thank you to our HALB teachers for everything you do for the school and your students every single day!