Project Heritage
Project Heritage is about the connection of ideas, as students can hear the testimonies of living historians, and embark upon the journey of tracing their own family roots and explore their own stories.
This year, we are partnering with the Sydney Jewish Museum, and their innovative use of DITs (digital imaging technology) to provide a meaningful interaction with the living historians and deepen the awareness of our students around what it means to be Jewish in Australian society, while gaining a greater appreciation of the tremendous contribution made by these living historians to the Jewish community.
We believe that this rich learning experience will place the individual stories of our students into the collective story of our people. They will have the opportunity to pause in their learning space and step outside of themselves and try to articulate what it means to be Jewish. They will investigate their own identity and personal history, reflect on their Jewish heritage via their family and their education and discover how migration in general, and specifically as Jews, has contributed to Australian Society.
In their SRE classes, Year 6 students will be introduced to the topic of Project Heritage, the concept of ‘living historians’ and what that means to them. Throughout the next few months, students will embark on a meaningful journey as follows:
- Students will be encouraged to explore their own unique family heritage.
- Students will read age-appropriate poetry from the text “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Abba Kovno and discuss the meaning of the poems and what the butterfly symbolises.
- Students and their parents are invited to attend an introductory session at the Sydney Jewish Museum from 3-5pm. Parents and students will have an opportunity to ask questions about the Heritage Project.
- Students and parents will have the opportunity to engage with one of the Dimensions in Testimony (DIT) 3D virtual testimony of a living historian, during which time they will hear their story and have an opportunity to interact with the living historian through the DIT.
- Parents and students will separate into two gruops. Parents will be invited to participate in a guided tour of the Holocause section of the SJM. Students will remain in the seminar room, taking part in an educational activity wthat will establish the foundations of their project.
- Once back in schools, students will debrief their visit to the SJM and revise the story that they heard.
- Over the course of the new few months of SRE, students will work on their projects, and present it at an event held towards the end of the year.
