The entire JKHA middle school student body started the day of Yom HaShoah after Shacharit at a school-wide assembly, during which students heard selected readings, delivered by other students, about survivors’ and victims’ stories of their lives during the Holocaust. The program concluded with a communal recitation of “Kel Maleh.” Seventh and eighth graders also participated in a program that discussed the righteous gentiles in the Holocaust who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination, and fifth and sixth graders watched the movie “Paper Clips,” about the unbelievable project embarked upon by a middle school in rural, heavily Christian Tennessee, that collected over six million paper clips to demonstrate the scale of the Holocaust. Students then separated into their classrooms to debrief about the film, sharing their questions, observations and emotional responses to the screening.

Middle school students were fortunate to be able to join in on the high school Zoom with Gladys Halpern, JKHA/RKYHS grandparent and great-grandparent who shared her inspiring story of survival.