The Junior School commemorated Yom HaShoah with Year 3-5 students lighting candles in the memory of the 6 million lives lost. Students learnt about what life was like before the Shoah and the vibrant Jewish community we lost to destruction and hate. There was a moment of silence and we spoke about survivor legacy and hope. The ceremony ended with the singing of Hatikva. 

The Senior School Yom HaShoah commemoration was student-led, coordinated by the Year 12 Jewish Life Va’ad (committee). We lit memorial candles and held a minute’s silence as we remembered those that perished. Students read poems and showed art, and Yoni Ringelblum and Shayna Epstein sung songs written during the horrors of HaShoah, including the Partisan’s Hymn. We listened to Survivor Nina Bassat AM who survived the Lwow Ghetto and later came to Australia with her mother. Bassat has written a memoir, Take the Child and Disappear, and emphasised fostering joy over hatred. 

On Yom HaShoah, and everyday, we remember.