Announcement for 9/11

Good morning.

A few minutes ago our school had an announcement and moment of silence as we remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001. I am sharing our announcement below.

Mr. Rubin

Each year, making this announcement gets a little more challenging, as 9/11 becomes more of a history lesson than a day we personally endured. For our students, most were not yet born as the events unfolded on 9/11/2001, and so it exists through the lens of history, like the Challenger disaster for children of the 80s, Watergate in the 70s, or the assassinations of JFK and Dr. King in the 60s. That day’s images are burned in all of us forever, whether we lived them or relive them as part of history, tributes, or the way that it has changed the world in which we live. It is in that spirit that we will pause and reflect on the meaning not only of that day, 9/11, but the world it yielded in the immediate aftermath. On September 12, 2001, stores sold out of American flags, people were united in their resolve to rebuild, and people of all kinds and all parties put nation above self and ideology. It was a time where the return to our feet mattered more than the sucker punch, and when country meant more than party or personality.

It is in that spirit that today, we ask that you all pause in a moment of silent reflection with these thoughts in mind:

• To remember the nearly 3000 innocent men, women, and children who lost their lives on an airplane, at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, in Shanksville, PA, and on the streets of New York;
• To be inspired and grateful for first responders, police, fire, and military personnel who dedicate and risk their lives to protect our opportunity to live our own;
• To acknowledge and think of the thousands of families and friends, some of whom are even in this building, who still grieve the loss of life from that momentous and tragic day;
• And, perhaps most importantly, to resolve to work together to bring us closer to the America of 9/12, with the compassion, strength, unity, and pride that will help keep this nation great.

Please join me in a moment of silence.

Thank you.