Finley Commemorates 9/11 with Solemn Tribute
In a touching and poignant ceremony, the students and staff of J. Taylor Finley Middle School commemorated the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The event, which was carried into classrooms across the two-story building via the school’s public address system, included remarks by Principal John Amato, readings by four students of first-hand memories of those near the World Trade Center that day and stirring original rendition of Taps.
The Finley commemoration included not only the attacks in New York City, but those at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA, where passengers overwhelmed the hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 and brought down the plane in an open field. There were no survivors. The attacks killed 2,974 innocent people.
“Everyone in the building felt that we should always have a brief memorial to the sad and tragic event,” Mr. Amato said. The principal worked with social studies teacher Kim Finneran English teacher Kim Schiller, music teacher Frank Battista and Director of Humanities Joseph Leavy to create a six-minute memorial program. Ms. Schiller coordinated the event, which deeply affected many at the school.
Prior to the program’s start, every student was asked to take a seat in one of Finley’s classrooms. No one was allowed in the hallway. The attention of more than 800 people in the building was focused squarely on the loudspeaker in each room and the words that those square boxes carried.
“On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the Pentagon in Washington, DC, the World Trade Center in New York City and a third plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania en route to attack another government building,” Mr. Amato told the school over the PA system. “This event was a dark day in American history, much like the attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Schools across the nation will join together today to remember the victims of the attacks, as well as their families who continue to struggle with their losses. Students must never forget this event and understand why it happened. Peace is a small word, but requires enormous amounts of energy and intelligence to achieve.” Finley students were encouraged to work toward peace in even the smallest way with one another.
Four of Ms. Schiller’s students then took turns reading recollections of the event as recorded by Stuyvesant High School students and teachers who witnessed the attack in Manhattan. The memories were drawn from the book “With Their Eyes.” In respectful tones, Katie Petrozzo, Jake Roday, Matt Angeliadis and Matt Colvin shared these moving stories with members of the Finley community.
Student Jonathan Wood followed the readings with a rendition of Taps on his trumpet. Mr. Amato concluded the ceremony with his usual early morning statement to students: “Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.”
“The tone of the students in the building was one of respect and clear patriotism,” Mr. Leavy said.
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