York House Commemorates Remembrance Day

See below for photo slideshow

RemembranceDayJS_09Nov2015-5166Junior School Remembrance Day Assembly

The Junior School held a poignant Remembrance Day Assembly on Monday, November 9. The assembly opened with these words, from hosts Eloise and Anita from 4H: “Remembrance Day is a very important day because we remember the people and soldiers that  fought and died in wars. If we didn’t have these brave soldiers, we wouldn’t have the beautiful country we have now.”

In class, some of the girls have been learning why people become refugees. Mila, Madeleine and Ella created a presentation that talked about why refugees have come to Canada throughout our history, including Irish, Vietnamese and Syrian refugees.

The Grade 4s performed “In Flanders Fields”, and the Grade 5/6 Choir sang a beautiful song called “A Wish for Peace,” by Canadian Composers Denise Gagne and Michael Cassils. The lyrics describe a very important message from the eyes of a child: “I wish for hope, I wish for joy, I wish for all these things for every girl and boy, that wherever in the world they are, they’ll see the stars above and wish for peace, and wish for love.”

Each class had been asked to reflect on what peace means to them or how peace is achieved in their daily lives. Grade 4H shared all the statements that the classes came up with. It was summed by nicely with this statement: “We are so lucky to be living in a peaceful country. Our parents are able to keep us safe. We are able to come to school everyday to learn and play with our friends knowing that we will have a warm meals to eat everyday. As we have heard today, that is not the case for so many kids our age.”

Watch the performances from the Junior School Remembrance Day Assembly:

RemembranceDaySS_06Nov2015-5124Senior School Remembrance Day Assembly

Held on Friday, November 6th, the Senior School Assembly was hosted by Grade 10 students, Jasmine and Miranda. The assembly featured readings from Elizabeth (Grade 11), Isabelle (Grade 11), and Rosa (Grade 10). There were solo performances from Kathleen (Grade 12), who performed her original song “Soldiers”, and Rainy (Grade 11), who sang a beautiful rendition of “Ave Maria”. Chorista performed “In Flanders Fields” and “Old Irish Blessing”, Ragazza sang John Lennon’s “Imagine”, and our Senior Drama students performed an interpretation of the WWI poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen.

Watch highlights from the performances:

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