JFK Middle School in the Comsewogue School District recently participated in The Butterfly Project to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and memorialize the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust. As part of the program, students visited the World Holocaust Remembrance Center’s virtual IRemember Wall, which matches guests with the name of a Holocaust victim. Each student designed a butterfly dedicated to the name and story they were assigned and decorated it with pictures, personal facts and other. The final project culminated in a mural of over 800 butterflies, each highlighting another victim’s life and story.
“By contributing in The Butterfly Project, students learn about the dangers of bigotry and the importance of strength and resilience,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Quinn. “It’s vital to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and teach our students about the stories of hope and resistance shared by Holocaust victims.”
In addition to decorating their butterflies, students explored the work of writers like Elie Wiesel and read the Pavel Friedmann poem, "The Butterfly." Pavel Friedmann wrote the poem from the Theresienstadt concentration camp to symbolize the freedom he and his community lost during the Holocaust. The Butterfly Project aims to teach about social justice and warn about the dangers of bigotry by memorializing the lives lost during the Holocaust.
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