Hollingworth Remembers the Holocaust

Date published: 11 February 2015


'Hollingworth Remembers the Holocaust'

All year 9 pupils were involved in ‘Hollingworth Remembers the Holocaust’ day that was presented by guest speakers from the Greater Manchester Jewish Community.

The day involved an introduction on Jewish life and the challenges over time; including events in Nazi Germany that led to the Holocaust of World War Two.

  •  ‘Was God absent from Auschwitz?’ – stories and memoirs from famous Jewish writers and rabbis were the focus of this session to try to make sense of why God allowed his ‘chosen people’ to suffer in the Holocaust.
  • ‘Living the Legacy’ – how a Jewish family was affected by Nazi Germany and the transportation and effects of the Holocaust on children.
  • ‘Terezin Art’ – a collection of artwork and poems created by adults and children who were in Terezin ghetto in the then Czechoslovakia.
  • ‘The Holocaust: A Personal View’ – a family’s life explained by understanding anti-Semitism and what happened in the Holocaust.

The day was an amazing success and pupils were engaged throughout. Thank you to Jeremy Michelson, Hannah Goldstone, Caroline Slifkin and Frederick Naftel.

A closer look at the Terezin Art art session:

‘Terezin Art’ – a collection of artwork and poems created by adults and children who were in Terezin ghetto in the then Czechoslovakia (delivered by Caroline Slifkin):

Main activities covered:

  • Discussion with students the content of the artwork and poems to work out what messages the adults and children in Terezin were trying to convey?
  • Discussion with students about what life was like for the children in Terezin.
  • Discussion with students about how the children had to make do with scraps of paper and very limited art materials – something we may take for granted.
  • Discussion about how the artwork/poems could be considered as an act of resistance and as witness ‘statements 

Individually each Year 9 Hollingworth pupil responded to the poems and art shown in the session by using a butterfly stencil to capture the moods, environment and events that the Terezin Jews would have encountered in the ghetto or remembered from before being forced into the ghetto. The butterfly was a key focus of the poetry and art of some of the adults and children in Terezin.

Boreatton Park

In September last year we ran a successful residential trip to Boreatton Park Activity Centre and would like to run the same trip again this year. This is an adventure weekend where pupils will have the opportunity to take part in activities such as high roping, team challenge, zip wire and initiative exercises. All activities are delivered by fully qualified PGL staff and are designed to develop pupils' social and team building skills, as well as problem solving activities. The places will be allocated on a first come first served basis and are subject to Head of Year approval. Anyone interested is to see Miss Crook in Room 105 in the Maths department.

Table Tennis Club

Table Tennis Club will be on a Monday, 3-4 pm. Any questions, please see Mr Carter.

Indoor Rowing

Year 7 & 8 are to continue training on Thursday, 1.50pm – 2.50pm. Years 9, 10 & 11 are to train on Wednesday, 2.50-3.50pm.

Art Department

The Art Department are offering a Mini Art Pack to KS3 and KS4 pupils. If you are interested, please ask your Art teacher for a letter.

Diary Dates:

13 February - School closes for Half Term
23 February - School Re-opens
25 February - Year 11 Parents’ Evening

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