Year: 2019

York House commemorated Remembrance Day with two special assemblies in the Senior School and Junior School. Both ceremonies were simple, solemn, and thoughtful affairs.

Both assemblies that featured the reciting of the poem “In Flanders Fields”, the poem written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, as well as performances by our choirs and bands, and a presentation by Captain Cheryl McHugh on the role of women in the military.

At the Junior School ceremony, the Grade 3 and 4 Choir sang a song called “Inscriptions of Hope”. The song is based on a poem written during the Holocaust by a Jewish prisoner. The Grade 4s sang and played “Amazing Grace” on their recorders. 

The Senior School Remembrance Day assembly also featured readings, poetry, and music. Speakers recited poems and fictional and non-fictional accounts written by Canadians who have experienced war and peacekeeping missions. These readings and writings were first-hand accounts that depicted the lives of those affected by the war. 

Ragazza performed a song that reflected on peace, and the Grade 9 Band and Senior Band performed the piece “Where Words End…”, accompanied by images from wartime.

Our students reminded us to contemplate on how we can attempt to bring a sense of gratitude and compassion to our everyday lives in honour of those who selflessly sacrificed so much, and remember those who gave their lives, so that we may live in peace.