Students express remembrance together through memorial tree

Expressions of remembrance united students at Glen Ames Senior Public School in a solemn Nov. 11 ceremony Tuesday.

A book titled “Memorial,” gave the students context for the ceremony. The story followed a young boy who feared a town council decision to remove an old tree planted in memory of fallen soldiers. The boy learns through talking with three generations of former servicemen that the memory of the fallen soldiers will carry on with him.

Each class of Grade 7 and Grade 8 students contributed a branch to a “memorial” tree, displayed on the gymnasium wall during the assembly. On each branch, students added leaves containing their written responses to the book’s central question: “What does the act of remembrance mean to me?”

“I will remember the sound of bugles blowing, for it reminds us of those of who died in the war,” one student wrote, in French, on their leaf.

The tree also served another purpose. Teacher and organizer, Laura Kingelin, says students see it as a visual reminder of their shared connection to Remembrance Day.

“When they see that every student in the school has created a leaf, it brings it home that they’re all connected…that they’re sharing in the experience,” Kingelin said.

Each class also prepared a special performance piece for their peers and guests expressing how they reflect on the act of remembrance. Music teacher and organizer, Ian Speck, led a music ensemble in a performance of Ertodt Uns Durch Dein Gute (Humble us by Thy Goodness) by classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach. He says organizers felt the students would better understand the significance of remembering through performance.

“We wanted the school as a whole to begin thinking about why this is important and why people sacrifice for freedom,” Speck said.

In their performances, students also honoured the memory of fallen soldiers and civilians from different eras through poetry, song, drama and even Twitter messages for the hash-tag #HowIRemember. Following the ceremony, vice-principal Brian Panesar praised the students for their creativity.

“I think the uniqueness that every class brought to the overall performance was really impressive,” Panesar said.

Inspired by the “Memorial” book, each class at Glen Ames Senior Public School contributed a branch to the memorial tree. Students added leaves to the tree containing their written reflections on the act of remembrance

Leaves on the memorial tree. Some students wrote their reflections on the act of remembrance in French.

Grade 7 students read their reflections in the form of tweets for the hash-tag #HowIRemember.

The Grade 8 music ensemble awaits their performance of a selection from Bach’s Cantata 22. Meanwhile, a video montage plays on screen paying tribute to Canada’s World War II veterans.

For their performance piece, these Grade 7 students express their reflections on remembrance with a French language song.

Grade 8 students act out the lyrics to the famous World War I poem, In Flanders Fields, by Canadian soldier John McCrae.

This dramatic performance by Grade 8 students pays tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers.

Translated to English, this student’s reflection reads: “I will remember the sound of bugles blowing, for it reminds us of those who died in the war, I will remember.”