Today we have been commemorating Yom Hashoah as a whole school community. The day started with an emotional assembly, where students heard testimonies read by fellow students. It was extremely emotional to see all the students together again in the Heartspace for the first time in over two years, with 2 Year groups having never experienced a whole school assembly.

Students could then opt in to the Israeli style ‘Zikaron Besalon’ where small groups gathered in an informal setting to hear personal accounts of the Holocaust. We were joined by staff members and external speakers who shared their family’s stories to groups of years 7, 8, 9 and 10 students. We were also honoured to host a tree planting ceremony at lunchtime. This tree has been donated to JCoSS by the Balazs family, in partnership with The Association of Jewish Refugees as part of their 80 Trees for 80 Years campaign to plant trees where Holocaust refugees settled. We were joined by Tony Balazs, second generation refugee who addressed Y9 students and staff in attendance. May we remember together.