Classes and school events will commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks this week. A committee of teachers, administrators and SGA and PTSA members planned the events.
Students watched three short videos during second period Sept. 7. Senior Ben Page created the first video, which several teachers helped narrate. In the second video, Michelle Obama declared September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance for a public service announcement. Assistant principal Brandi Heckert made the third video several years ago, when she was at a different high school.
Students also wrote an act of kindness or“the act of kindness or service you will perform to pay tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11.” During Back-to-School Night Sept. 8, completed commitment sheets will be displayed in the main hallway.
But some students, like sophomore John Wiedemann, said they didn’t have enough time to fill out the commitment sheets.
“It didn’t really work because students had to rush to fill them out,” he said. “If they have given us more time, it would be a good idea.”
During the first home football game Saturday evening, the community will observe a moment of silence in memory of those were killed in the attacks. Players and fans from both Whitman and rival Churchill will work together to collect 911 cans of food to donate to a local food bank.
Commemorative activities are especially important now because many current students were too young to understand the events ten years ago, Heckert said.
“Seeing as most of the kids here now were five, six, seven-years-old when this happened, it’s important to be able to know what happened, to see some of the visuals of what went on that day and to reflect on how much the world has changed since September 11th,” Heckert said.
English teacher Susan Buckingham said she remembers the disbelief among students and teachers, as news of the attacks spread around Whitman.
“When the events began to happen, I was giving my summer reading essay,” she said. “Finally, administrators came on the intercom and said that we should turn on our televisions.”
The first World Trade Center tower collapsed minutes after she turned on the news.
“I was horrified,” she said. “It was almost unbelievable.”
After such terror ten years ago, the videos are a good way to commemorate Sept. 11, Buckingham said.
“I think it’s a nice remembrance,” she said.
Kate Currie • Sep 20, 2011 at 11:15 pm
These commemorations were super well done and were a nice gesture. i really enjoyed them.
Meredith • Sep 14, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Thank you for writing about 9/11 and how we commemorated it last week. I pray nothing like this ever happens again. I trust it won’t, however, because America learned (and improved upon) the many gaps in security and rescue (although many tried to help, it was hard. Now we have experience). The terrorist attacks, meant to tear the country apart, united us, and people (even my kindergarten class) treated each other as equals; friends and enemies alike cried together and comforted each other.