We will remember them: Remembrance Day 2021

Remembrance Day is always a special occasion at St. Andrew’s College, and this year the students were treated to a week of guest speakers, services on the Quad, and a remembrance mission to visit the graves of veterans.

On Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, Upper School students headed outside to the Quad for a solemn service under overcast skies. The students stood shoulder to shoulder in Kilted First Dress outside Memorial Chapel, where fallen Andreans have been honoured since the First World War. They listened as a classmate read the poem, In Flanders Fields. They sang Amazing Grace. The names of Old Boys who’d perished in wartime were read aloud, one by one. Each name was followed by a Cadet raising his sword and proclaiming, “We will remember them.”  

On Nov. 10, Middle School marked Remembrance Week with a service that started in Ketchum Auditorium. The boys then headed outside by class, each assigned to a Cadet. The groups took turns visiting ten white cross stations on the Quad and listened to stories of Andreans who had sacrificed themselves for their country and their freedom. They learned the details of these men’s lives and deaths and stood in silent reflection before placing red poppies on the crosses.

Elly Gotz is a Holocaust survivor who spoke to Upper School students virtually on Nov. 8. The boys heard his story of the horrors of war spent in a Nazi concentration camp. He lived in Lithuania and was rounded up, along with his mother and father, just as he was to enter high school. Now, at the age of 93, Elly continues to educate younger generations on the atrocities of war and the need for tolerance, speaking to 15,000 students every year. You can visit his website to learn more.

David Stewart, Associate Director, Upper School, Student Affairs, writes a column in the weekly A Look Ahead parent newsletter. He dedicated two columns to Remembrance Day, and you can read them here and here.

The #142 SAC Cadet Corps headed a community project as part of the No Stone Left Alone initiative. SAC students sought out veterans’ headstones at four local cemeteries, including one dedicated to Jewish veterans, and ensured each had a poppy and Canadian flag. The Grade 12 students honoured the memories of nearly 100 veterans in York Region. 

Please see our Remembrance Day photo gallery here.

Story by Julie Caspersen
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