By Melanie Savage, Reminder News
Approximately 250 sixth-graders from Hartford, Hebron, Mansfield, Killingly, Voluntown and Windham attended the Legacy Explorations Symposium at Eastern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, April 30. The students listened to guest speakers who talked about human and civil rights and participated in related activities.
Maggie and Alyssa, sixth-graders from Voluntown Elementary School, attend the Legacy Explorations Symposium at Eastern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, April 30. Photos by Melanie Savage/Reminder News.
The symposium was part of the EASTCONN Interdistrict Grant called Legacy Explorations, a school-year-long program helping sixth-graders from different schools, cultural and socio-economic environments learn about multicultural influences on history and contemporary culture. The program’s overall focus is on helping students acquire a better understanding of human rights and the importance of diversity.
Speaking to the students was Rabbi Philip Lazowski. Lazowski “survived the Holocaust through bravery, chance, and the help of resistance fighters in the woods of Poland,” according to his bio. Also speaking was Nancy Gifford, a former Connecticut state prosecutor, currently senior director of law and policy at The Internet Keep Safe Coalition. Gifford is well-known for her work on Internet safety, cyber-bullying, digital citizenship and positive social media. The third speaker, Thanh Nguyen, is currently the principal at Mansfield Middle School. Nguyen escaped by boat with his family from Vietnam in the 1970s.
As she headed into the second half of the day-long symposium, Windham Middle School student Casandra said that she’d been affected by Lazowski’s talk. “It made me think that it’s sad there are so few Holocaust survivors left,” she said. The sixth-grader recalled Lazowski’s tale of hiding out for more than two years in the woods during the war. It was hard to imagine what he’d endured, said the student. “All of his siblings died,” she said.
Read the full article by Melanie Savage from Reminder News.
