The school's commemoration of Yom Hashoah began with the reading of names of victims in a pitch black room and ended with a Keil maleh rachamim and with each student lighting a memorial candle. In between, the students and faculty viewed the movie Paperclips, a recently released Holocaust- related documentary. This film, however, was far different than the ones which we have seen in the past.

The movie told the story of students from the Whitwell Middle School, a public school in predominantly Caucasian, Protestant rural Tennessee, who decided to do a project that would sensitize the students to people who are different from them. They chose to study the Holocaust. Early in these studies, the students asked their teachers for a way to understand the enormity of the number 6,000,000.

It began as a simple project collecting paperclips to represent each victim of Hitler's genocide. This inspiring venture grew into a remarkable and unforgettable lesson that changed the lives of the entire Whitwell community and the millions of people throughout the world who have learned about it. Through their tireless efforts, passion, and commitment, these students and their teachers broke the boundaries of race and religion which Hitler drew. They were able to far surpass their goal, and now, with twenty-nine million paperclips, have established a permanent memorial.

After watching the film, the writer and director Joe Fab spoke to us in a question-answer session as a follow up. His dedication to the project, as an artist who is not Jewish, is inspiring.

On a personal level, I found this film extremely moving. To have a large group of middle school students voluntarily devote their time, energy and strength to a cause with which they have no attachment is remarkable. However, what struck me most was that something as small and insignificant as a paperclip could impact so many lives from so many different backgrounds. Furthermore, the movie's purpose was not to only recognize the intolerance done to the Jews, but to everyone brutally subjected in the Holocaust due to prejudice.

Throughout the film, one could see the town's people slowly being affected and becoming more open minded. For example, the assistant principal confessed to having stereotypical views on those in the north before starting the project. Once the task began, his entire mindset was transformed. The idea that this project could change a whole people's attitude towards others is tremendous. A society without bigotry is hard to imagine. However, this movie gives its viewers faith that the world can change, one person at a time.

Thank you to Mr. Ronald and Mrs. Sarah Gottleib (parents of Nechama '03) who sponsored the program in memory of their fathers, Rabbi Nathan Gottleib and Mr. Jack Warsawiak.

The Sunday before vacation WYHS' annual Pre- Pesach Car Wash took place. The challenge given to the students was that the grade with the highest percentage of its students participating would receive the money raised and put it towards their class trip. While the sophomores came pretty close, the seniors won in the end putting the money towards their weeklong trip to Canada.

The Car Wash was the most successful in WYHS history. Cars lined up waiting for a sparkling clean wash from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The waterfights and endless donuts didn't get in the way of raising twelve hundred dollars.

A special thanks to all the parents, teachers and community members for their great support (and minivans)! As always, this program could not have happened without all the hours that Program Director Rabbi Josh Spodek spent on planning this fundraiser.