CHES was pleased to be invited for the first time to participate in the Rotary Club of Ottawa Adventure in Citizenship Program at the University of Ottawa. Over 160 students, aged 16 to 18 and future leaders from across Canada, listened attentively to a presentation by Tibor Egervari, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. The students were visibly moved and inspired by Tibor’s presentation. Special thanks to program coordinator Margot Nicholls for inviting us to participate. We look forward to more engagements with the Rotary Club.
David Moskovic visited the Ottawa Jewish Community School on Yom Hashoah and presented his survival story to over 50 students from Grades 7 and 8. It was obvious that their teacher had prepared them well for the visit and, as a result, the students had thoughtful and meaningful discussions with David.
Since our April 2023 newsletter, our Speakers’ Bureau has continued responding to many requests from schools. We are so grateful for their important work, and the results are incredible as they have now connected with over 3300 students and the responses have been heart-warming.
Please enjoy a sampling of some of the feedback from Sir Robert Borden High School, Merivale High School, Smith Falls District Collegiate Institute, Immaculata High School, Notre Dame High School, and Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School.
Our session today with Elly Bollegraaf was fantastic … She also shared a lot of valuable and personal information with us. I don’t think my students will forget their meeting with her any time soon. – Kristi Donovan, Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute
The session was perfect. Mrs. Morrison did a perfect job of educating about the Holocaust but also how some of the lessons learned can be applied to my students’ real life. For instance, her parallel between her experiences and bullying was a message my class most definitely needed to hear. -Stephanie Oliver, Immaculata High School
I had the honour of attending Tova Clark’s presentation with my grade 10 History class this week. The talk was very engaging and informative. Tova’s story resonated with my students, many of whom come from countries that have experienced, or continue to experience, violence and discrimination. Thank you to Tova and your organization for bringing this important message to our students. – Jody Miles, Notre Dame HS
We had a Zoom session with Judy Young. I had two classes of Grade 9s in my classroom to hear her story. Judy was a phenomenal speaker. She did an excellent job, starting off linking other world events (similar genocides) to the Holocaust and gave us a great explanation of what she knows. We really enjoyed hearing about her family and seeing her pictures and documents. I can tell you that my students were very interested and really appreciate her time today. The visit with Judy really helps my students connect to their current novel, Book Thief, which is about the Holocaust. – Lisa Powell, St. Mark High School
Our experience with Tibor was phenomenal. He had such a kind, gentle way with the students. Students were engaged and asked thoughtful questions. We had many students who came up afterwards to say thank you and to share how impactful the presentation was to them. I would be very interested in continuing to have these presentations next year as well. – Marianne Hodgson, St. Francis Xavier High School
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