On Friday a number of sixth formers got the opportunity to travel to HMP Magilligan and view the permanent exhibition within the prison to the Holocaust. The exhibition is housed in a number of Nissen huts and was exclusively made by inmates of the prison. They include audio visual displays and images of the persecution and genocides.

https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/hmd2020-magilligan-prison-county-londonderry/

On Thursday Year 11 students visited the synagogue in Belfast and got the opportunity to meet and hear the story of Joan Salter MBE. She is a child survivor of the Holocaust. She was born in 1940 to Polish Jewish parents and she was three months old when Belgium was invaded by the Nazis.
After the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940, Joan’s father was deported, along with all non-native men over the age of 15. Her mother took Joan and her sister to Paris, and eventually over the mountains into Spain in early 1943.

From there, Joan was transported to America and was fostered. We were also able to hear of the history of the Jewish population in Belfast and of the features of the synagogue.

This was a very emotional and humbling testimony that was appreciated by all the students and staff alike.

Mrs McCartney and Mr Kennedy’s Year 13 Public Services class were joined by Councillor Michael Goodman of Sinn Fein and Councillor Phillip Brett of the DUP today. The councillors talked to the pupils about the challenges of local politics, the role and responsibilities of a councillor and how young people can get involved in the development of Glengormley town. The pupils evaluated the visit in a debrief and will put their knowledge to use in pursuit of their qualification.

Here’s what some of our pupils thought:

Joel McTernaghan, “What I found interesting about the visit was that two members from parties that supposedly hate each other so much that they can’t work together in Stormont, were talking about how often they work together within our community.”

Abigail Brett, “I did not know there is funding available for community projects in Glengormley and the council is looking for ideas.”

Alice Stewart, “I learnt more about the election process and it was nice to hear it from someone directly involved. It felt more legitimate and made me feel more connected to my representatives.”

Congratulations to our Historians of the Month for September. Well done for all your hard work and effort. #heroichistorians #learningwithoutlimits #aspiretosucceed

Year 10 pupils continued their participation in the School University Partnerships Initiative from last year. They met with students from Rosstulla, Abbey Community College and Belfast High to present their entries into the SUPI – in conjunction with the Newtownabbey Learning Community – Poster Competition to commemorate the Great War.

Congratulations to all the entrants and best of luck to Kirsty Alcorn, Kacey Greer and Lewis Purdy who won through to the finals to be held in December at Queens University.

A Year 9 History class took part in this Newtownabbey Learning Community Project.  Working with Researches at Queen’s University our project was based on World War 1, Living Legacies.  Working with groups from Rosstulla, Belfast High and Abbey Community School the pupils looked at the First War through different subjects

• Mapping the front – Geography
• WW1 Drama – English
• WW1 Handling Box and digital technologies –       History / ICT
• A Green Booth with WW1 Costumes was available all day, for those special pictures.

The children have been sent away to produce a poster on World War 1 and will meet as a group again in Year 10

Everyone had a great day and look forward to continuing this work in September

Mrs O’Neill’s Year 14 History class attending a talk at Belfast High School given by Historian and author Timothy Bowman. An excellent morning was had by all and plenty of examination content was covered.

We were delighted to welcome Dr. Jonathan Mattison to school recently. He spoke to our Year 14 History students about the issue of Home Rule and the nature of the opposition to it in Ulster. It was a very interactive discussion that covered a significant part of their current modules.

1968: a Missed Opportunity workshop – Ulster Museum April 18th

Year 11 History students took part in a conference exploring the foundation of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland. They had the opportunity to engage with other schools in lectures, activities and a newly refurbished Troubles gallery tour.

After lunch, they listened to the perspectives of Anne Devlin (a former Peoples’ Democracy activist) and Nelson McCausland (DUP) and were able to ask the panel questions regarding their experiences.

Holocaust Memorial Day is held on January 27th each year. Glengormley High has been holding a series of special assemblies to commemorate the Holocaust. These have been delivered by the school’s Holocaust Ambassadors Erin English and Natalie Montgomery. The assemblies have focused on the nature of the Holocaust and how discrimination can lead to such terrible events as we are witnessing in Darfur at present and recently in Bosnia.

The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day this year is the Power of Words. Citizenship classes have been involved in postcard writing exercises to survivors of the Holocaust from World War 2 and the war in Bosnia.