Holocaust Survivor Shares Story with Shipley Seventh Graders
Shipley's seventh grade recently wrapped up a unit on the Holocaust with a presentation by Holocaust survivor Henry Bibring.

Bibring was 12 in March of 1938, when Hitler annexed his native Austria to Germany. "I came home shattered because I couldn't understand," he said of the day they closed his favorite ice-skating rink to Jews. One year (and many devastating life-changes) later, Henry and his sister were separated from their parents when they fled Vienna for London, along with thousands of other German children on the English Inter-Aid Committee's Kindertransport. Bibring never saw his parents again.

"It's scary to believe that this stuff actually happened," commented one student.

Shipley seventh graders learn about the Holocaust in Kirsten Small's English class primarily through literature. Small is famous for arbitrarily throwing students out of her class as a way to illustrate how Jews were treated. "It teaches you a lesson that you shouldn't treat someone badly just because of their religion," said a student after Bibring's presentation. "What matters is what's on the inside."

"I think it's important to learn about the Holocaust," said another seventh-grader. "We need to be aware of what happened so it doesn't happen again. We need to learn about it even though it's tough to hear about."

Compassionate Giving
Shipley eighth-grader Emma Storbeck donated $500 of her Bat Mitzvah money to the Bethel Bryn Mawr Daycare Center. For three years, Emma has been a member of the Shipley Middle School service group that visits the daycare center monthly. Anne Smith, the faculty advisor to the service group, said, "I love Emma's commitment, her compassion. This is what we hope to foster in our students."

Shipley Fifth Graders Send Letters to Alumnus Serving in Iraq
When Ashley Reichenbach Kopp, Shipley's Director of Alumni Relations, found out that a Shipley alumnus was serving in Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army, she felt compelled to take action. She sent an email to Shipley faculty and staff, asking for donations to include in a care package to be sent to Lt. Tom Flounders '02. Lower School Librarian, Barb Holt, wanted to get students involved, too.

At Ashley's suggestion, Barb's fifth-grade classes wrote letters to Tom. Building on American history lessons the students had learned in fourth grade, Barb taught them about the history of the 1st Cavalry, which fought in all of the major battles of the Civil War. "They took it very seriously," said Barb of the fifth graders, who expressed gratitude and admiration for Tom's bravery in their letters. "Be sure to come and see us at the school," wrote one student. The entire Shipley community wishes Tom a safe and quick return back home.

International School Library Day
On October 22, the Lower School celebrated International School Library Day for the second year in a row. Students in grades 4 and 5 exchanged bookmarks with a school in Sohna, India. Shipley and the Indian school first got to know one another by exploring each other's websites and exchanging photos through the librarians of both schools.

The entire Lower School celebrated by reading books with an international library theme. Older students read The Librarian of Basra, an inspirational story of how one courageous woman secretly saved 30,000 books (70% of the library's collection) before the library was bombed and burned to the ground during wartime. "A great lesson of how one person can make a difference," said Shipley librarian Barbara Holt. Younger students read My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World.

Shipley students also joined with others all over the globe in the Email Around the World Project, in which participating libraries send email greetings to one another. Stop by the Lower School library to see a very graphic display of our flat world.