In November 2024, Mrs. Voss's 4th period English 2 students studied the Holocaust and read the memoir of a Holocaust survivor named Elie Wiesel. As a conclusion to their studies, students were assigned a Holocaust survivor or upstander (helper) to research. After conducting research, students created an artistic project in which they designed and decorated a canvas shoe to represent their person and tie into the use of shoes as artifacts and memorials of the Holocaust. They also wrote a one page biography of their person. Mrs. Voss displayed the projects in the school library through the months of December and January.
During that time, Mrs. Voss was contacted by a member of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust, who asked if projects specific to survivors living in North Carolina could be donated to the Council. The Council, a division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, will use the shoes as part of a traveling exhibit about Holocaust survivors who specifically settled in North Carolina. Out of 28 projects completed, 12 happened to be of North Carolina survivors, and upon students' permission, Mrs. Voss will be donating those projects to the state Holocaust council. Those specific projects will be displayed along with informational panels about North Carolina Holocaust survivors at several statewide teacher conferences, and then they will be available for any teacher of the Holocaust, within the state, to request they be brought to their school. The students, South Stokes High School, and Stokes County Schools will be credited within the project's display. The projects remaining at South Stokes will be used by Mrs. Voss for future classes.
Mrs. Voss is very proud of the class's devotion and efforts to this project, which was a first-time experience for Mrs. Voss. In addition, Mrs. Voss would like to thank everyone who donated canvas shoes and art supplies in order to allow the project to be possible.
If you'd like to know more about the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust and its resources within the state, you can visit: https://ncholocaustcouncilworkshops.org/nc-holocaust-curriculum/