Website testimonial letters scotland
Letter from Melvyn R. Lynch, Head Teacher, Forfar Academy (a state secondary school)
Forfar, Angus District, January 1999
It was a real pleasure to meet you today. I have been looking forward to it. We are so grateful to you for yor taking the time and making the effort to visit our community and to light a candle in our minds with the work you are committed to.
I am very envious of your talent and the work you have done over the years. It is particularly apt that today we celebrate man’s creativity, while remembering the actual and potential talents of the many millions whose light was extinguished during the Holocaust, to say nothing of the tens of millions of artists, poets, scientists and scholars whose light never even began to shine.
Once again Aqiva, our grateful thanks to you. May you flourish and may life protect you with all good things. Please keep in touch and accept this replica of the Aberlemno Stone as a remembrance of your time with us here today.
********************
t h a n k y a !
Mr Lynch, a hearty congrats on your retirement! - AKS
Letter from Jayne Ashley, PT (principal teacher), International Studies and Citizenship, Kirkland High School
18 February 2008
I am writing to express my sincere thanks for your visit to our school on 30 January 2008.Your three presentations made to our second year, third year and fifth and sixth Years served to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust.
As I explained to your before your visit, our pupils came to you with varying degrees of knowledge on the subject as our fifth and sixth years are studying their Higher History and Higher Art courses this year.
Not only did your presentations serve to enlighten us on the Holocaust but enhanced our understanding of learning through Art.
I very much hope that we will able to benefit from your skills and expertise in the future as our pupils really enjoyed your visit.
Letter from Barry J. Watt, PT (principal teacher) Art, Northfield Academy (a state secondary school)
Aberdeen, April 1999
I would just like to say that your talk that you did at Northfield Academy was very enlightening and thought provoking, stimulating a lot of interesting questions and feedback from the lucky pupils who took part.
It is incredibly important for pupils to experience art ‘first hand’ and seeing and meeting the artist makes it all the more relevant.
Your work, linked to the Holocaust, was very relevant and topical at the time and we would look forward to future visits if possible.
I would just like to wish you well with future ventures and all the success with new artwork.
Letter from Paula Herm (of Berlin), PhD student in International Law, Aberdeen University
28 January 2008
“Thanks again for your presentation yesterday. I found it very spiritual, of course the stories and the whole framework to them are very sad but in my opinion you gave the whole event a very positive touch.
Regarding the wings, the individuals, their faces, their eyes: it seemed to me that in your work you have re-established the Holocaust’s victims (you painted) individuality, restored a bit of their irretrievably destroyed dignity as human beings. In the wings I could see the freedom of the soul of the person. Just today when I looked at your business card I again thought of angels.
I am sure that there are many students in Germany who would extremely profit from a visit of yours and also many who would appreciate it. I must say I am not an expert neither in the field of Holocaust commemoration or of education. I wish you all the best.”
Letter from Pamela Manley, History & Mods (Modern) Studies teacher, Montrose Academy (a state secondary school)
16 February, 2008
“It was so good for you to visit Montrose Academy on January 28 for the afternoon, the pupils had a most enjoyable experience. When I came to hear you speak it was with 28 S2 pupils between the ages of 13 and 14. They had not been taught anything about the Holocaust, but had taken part in assemblies that week – for Holocaust Memorial Day.
The pupils were very interested in what you had to say, asking questions about why you added wings to your pictures, and found it very thought provoking.
Three other pupils had joined us from a senior class, who were not able to see you first class of the afternoon, and they were also inspired by what you had to say.
After the talks to each of the classes you came with us and visited our exhibition, based in the library, for Holocaust Memorial Day. I have enclosed some pictures of your time, and on behalf of myself and my colleagues thank you very much.”
Excerpt from letter from George Baird, Head of Humanities, Turriff Academy (a state secondary school)
14 October, 2011
The staff and pupils really enjoyed working with you and hope you wil be able to visit us again in the future. Our sincere thanks for taking the time to visit us and we really do hope you will come back and see us in the future…and I must tell you that the local community were very interested in the presentation you gave.”
Rob Arbuckle, Teacher of History
Forfar Academy, Forfar, Angus, 4 February 2008
Akiva Kenny Segan gave a presentation to a group of 70 senior pupils at Forfar Academy on Monday 28th Jan. 2008. This was the culmination of a week of school presentations on the Holocaust given by two pupils and myself as we had recently returned from Auschwitz.
Akiva’s presentation was based on his artwork and its significance to both the Holocaust and modern Genocide. The pupils were from History and Art classes and they have commented on how interesting it was.
They had an understanding of the Holocaust, however, by seeing the pictures of people from the Ghetto, followed by Akiva’s associated artwork they felt that it had a closer resonance.
The presentation was well – received by both the pupils and accompanying art and history staff. It was a successful presentation and we would be happy to have Akiva give a future presentation at the school.
Aleksander Arnfinn Olsen, Aberdeen Universities’ Jewish Society president, 15 February 2008
On behalf of Aberdeen Universities’ Jewish Society, I warmly thank you for partaking in our Holocaust Memorial Day Programme on January 27th at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Your presentation, “Under the Wings of G-d,” enhanced with PowerPoint slides, was lucid, innovative and informative and provided a fitting if alternative perspective to an otherwise dark and solemn period of our collective history.
Furthermore I feel the audience was suitably engrossed in what you had to say which is testament to the Question and Answer session afterwards, in which the audience was engaged in tacit discussion with you. I have received no less than exemplary compliments from the participants.
I warrant you are a credit to the artistic and educational profession and the Jewish Community, and I anticipate his work will be met with equal enthusiasm wherever your expertise takes him.
On behalf of the Jewish Society, I look forward to welcoming you back to Aberdeen in the very near future.
Yours aye,
Aleksander Arfinn Olsen, AU Jewish Society
The Turriff Advertiser (weekly newspaper)
Turriff Academy
Victoria Terrace, Turriff AB53 4EE 018885 63216
14 October 2011
Dear Akiva,
The staff and pupils really enjoyed working with you and we hope that you will be able to visit us again in the future. The Academy art teacher Iain Dunlop and I would like you to work with more senior pupils in the Academy, some of whom are studying the causes, course and consequence of the Holocaust. Two of our seniors have recently returned from the concentration camps in Poland and are involved in a project with the Lessons from Auschwitz Team and Holocaust Trust.
My colleague in the History Department is soon off to Berlin and Dresden on a teacher visit to see how the Holocaust is taught in Germany.
Once again, our sincere thanks for taking the time to visit us and we really do hope you can come back and see us in the future.
We hope you enjoy the materials and the CD and I must also tell you that the local community were very interested in the presentation you gave.
Kind regards,
George Baird
Head of Humanities