Holocaust Remembrance Day at Piedmont

Mr. Egnot spent days prepping the scene.  Students walked to the media center along replica traintracks past abandoned shoes and empty luggage, through the trestle and under the Arbeit Macht Frei sign ringed in iron chains. Solemn music played as students passed photos and information about real victims of the Holocaust.

He chose infomational material for 15 "centers" including a giant timeline of events, the memoir Night by Elie Weisel, an Auschwitz station complete with handmade uniform and Jewish star, and replica gas cannisters, and ending with stories of hope. 

This morning An eighth grader walking into the media center this morning immediately recognized the theme. "This is for the Holocaust?" she asked. Her friend was awed by the detail and a little envious of the immersive learning experience " We never had this  last year"

Hopefully , students will take  the theme of "Never Again" to heart as the unit also included information on other genocides around the world including Armenia, Rwanda, and elsewhere. 

Upon completion of the Holocaust stations, students were able to visit the a butterfly painting booth to take part in The Butterfly Project. Manned byr an 8th grader who specifically sought out Mr. Egnot's mentorship, each student received the name of a separate child who died in the Holocaust and painted a wooden butterly in their honor. The butterflies will become part of an exhibit and a worldwide movement originating in France #theButterflyProject meant to honor and recognized the children of this atrocity.

#neverforget  #neveragain

□@PiedmontIB students honoring the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust #TheButterflyProject □ @CharMeckSchools #neveragain pic.twitter.com/NLoA6lqq6u

— Lisa Gurthie (@LisGurthie) January 27, 2017

□@PiedmontIB media center transformed into a Holocaust Remembrance Museum today #HolocaustMemorialDay @CharMeckSchools @LisaNewburger #clt pic.twitter.com/6oi9fssiSf

— Lisa Gurthie (@LisGurthie) January 27, 2017