Hempfield High School Organizes 9/11 Memorial

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country. Between the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on that tragic day. To honor their memory, Hempfield High School (HHS) students and staff organized an outdoor memorial where they created thousands of individual hearts, each one emblazoned with the handwritten name of a victim.

The memorial was organized by Hempfield School District social studies department coordinator Zahid Virmani and HHS social studies teacher Casey Douglas. Douglas noted that because it is the 20th anniversary, he wanted to do something special, so he proposed the outdoor memorial idea to Virmani on Sept. 4. Virmani was very supportive, said Douglas. By Sept. 7, Douglas was able to come to school with 50 large plastic bags filled with the names of the 9/11 victims, card stock, and heart templates. To get as many students involved as possible, Douglas sent an email to HHS staff, notifying them of the memorial. The bags were gone before the end of the school day.

"We wanted to get the students to understand the magnitude of the attacks and how much of an impact it had on our country," said Douglas. "The way to do that would be to get them involved in remembering the victims by making it personal for them. It's great when students learn history, but it's better when they feel like they're part of it."

The memorial was installed in front of the Franklin Office at HHS, 200 Stanley Ave., Landisville, on Sept. 10. Douglas mentioned that the hearts were different colors to represent the diversity of the victims because they were from different walks of life. The victims differed in age, ethnicity, gender, religious affiliation, and country of origin. About 50 of the hearts had QR codes that linked the viewer to a page with a brief story about the victim. 717 Spirit, a business that designs and crafts local merchandise, donated three "Never Forget" signs.

"The whole point was to encourage a discussion about the event," stated HHS social studies student teacher Jack Grady. "I noticed throughout the whole day that students were interacting, going up to the QR codes, and trying to learn more about the victims. We went back to all of our classes and tried to encourage discussion around this too to really get them to interact with the material."

"One of the most important things to remember is that our school came together to do this, and that's what it was like after 9/11," said Douglas. "The country came together, and people felt that unity. Many people feel like our country is divided, but I think (students) forgot about that when they did this (project)."

To learn more about what occurred on 9/11 and the victims, visit http://www.911memorial.org.