SAR Academy commemorated Yom HaShoah in a variety of meaningful ways. Prior to Yom HaShoah, students in grades five through eight were sent home with a memorial candle from Linking the Shoah, an organization that seeks to help us connect to the Shoah on a human level. Each candle was dedicated to a victim of the Holocaust. SAR families were encouraged to light these candles in their homes to honor the memory of the six million souls who perished. On Tuesday, Yom HaShoah, students in grades three through eight gathered on the steps of SAR Academy for a Yom HaShoah tekes (ceremony) which included a candle lighting for the martyrs and a brief tefilla.

Throughout the day, students heard directly from survivors or children of survivors. In first and second grade, teachers engaged students with a brief discussion surrounding a picture book or short video to help them develop a basic understanding of the day’s significance. Throughout the day, the names of SAR family members who perished in the Shoah were recited hourly as students, faculty and staff stood in a moment of silence.