30 Glengormley High students visited Poland at the end of February.  The first day consisted of a walking tour of the city of Krakow – including the Old Town Square, the former Jewish Ghetto and Wawel Hill and Castle.  The students heard how Krakow has developed as a city with a focus on the historical context of the treatment of the Polish Jews under the Nazi regime.  This was further explored with a visit to the Schindler Museum. 

Saturday consisted of a trip to the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau where the students were informed of the extent and nature of the Holocaust.  The students were able to relax that evening with a quiz courtesy of Mrs Kerr and Miss Dowds.  We visited the Salt mine on Sunday.  It features an underground lake, a chapel and various exhibits on the history of salt mining in the region.

Well done to our Historians of the Month for October!

Year 12: Katie Nelson, Conor McGurk

Year 11: Katie Robinson

Year 10: Aimee-Jo Maginnis, Kyle Stewart

Year 9: Bailey Campbell, Dean McGilton, Molly McCrum

Year 8: Katie McDowell, Charlie McClenaghan

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.