PARENTS

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

The Holocaust Memorial Service was truly unique. Listening to other people's stories about visiting concentration camps really touched me. Reading the Holocaust prayer in Hebrew, sharing my family's story and talking about the importance of this day in Israel made me feel that I had given a more personal view on the effect which the Holocaust had on Jews and other persecuted races, and still does to this day. It is comforting to know that in our multi-cultural school, we are all willing to commemorate and remember the terrible things that have happened in the past, and still do happen. We followed Jewish tradition by placing stones one-by-one in a pile to form a cairn, which is usually placed on a grave when visiting it, as a token of respect.

Written by Danz Gleicher-Bates

THE PRAYER TREE

A new tree has been planted in MSJ and is growing beautiful and unexpected fruit! As a development of our exploration of prayer, we now have a Prayer Tree on which everyone can tie coloured ribbons to represent their prayers. Payer Trees are common on every continent and in nearly every country. There are many different forms of tree, depending on how They are used.

Our Tree is a metal one (it needs to be strong!) and is located outside York Hall. By the end of each week is an amazing sight, laden with over 400 multi-coloured ribbons! The ribbons are later removed each Friday by the form who are leading assembly, but the prayers are not lost! They are prayed again by everyone in assembly and when the ribbon is tied onto the tree again in the next week, the prayer is strengthened. So the Tree is not an ornament, but a living thing. As it grows fresh each week, with a different combination of colours and shapes, it reflects the way our life in school changes from day to day.