Pupils in all year groups contributed as Clyde Valley embraced this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme ‘Communities Together’. To reinforce the message of community, staff and pupils from S1 to S6 were invited to visit the library at lunchtime on Thursday to sit for group photographs. These were taken by Digital Photography student, Emma Mooney. Emma’s photographs will now be displayed in the Art Department and the Library.

S1 pupils commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day during lessons and House Time. In English, pupils watched the HMD film, ‘Learning from the Past’, and reflected upon the wrong-doing and injustice of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. Pupils from each English class read the poem, ‘First They Came’, by German Pastor, Martin Niemoller.  At S3 and S4 assemblies, pupils viewed the very poignant HMD DVD ‘Lessons Learnt’. In German, S1 pupils studied the book-burning activities of the Nazi regime and the conditions in Auschwitz- Birkenau Concentration Camps.

Glenn McBride and Graham Ramage of sixth year, made a most moving contribution. Earlier this year, and as part of a Scottish-wide delegation, Glenn and Graham joined Mrs May Mackenzie, Principal Teacher of Humanities, on a day trip to Poland to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camps. The boys spoke to S1 assembly and to German classes of their hauntingly moving experience.  Glenn and Graham prepared a PowerPoint presentation to show some of the poignant pictures they took and spoke very sincerely about the life-changing impact the visit had on them. As an act of remembrance for the victims of genocide, pupils and staff signed a pledge to challenge the language of hatred.