News

Holocaust Remembrance Chapel For Upper School Students

Humanity took a break, we don’t know where it went, and we can’t afford to let it happen again.” These are the words Shirley Mills shared with PCA students and staff during our Holocaust Remembrance Chapel for the 6th-12th graders last Wednesday.

Mrs. Mills, the daughter of Holocaust Survivors Moshe and Rachel Silberstein and a member of the Jewish Federation of Charleston, was born in a refugee camp in Italy after the war. From there, she and her family moved to several places before settling in Israel and eventually moving to the United States.  

Mrs. Mills has been sharing her parents' story for the past 40 years. Her father and uncle were the only survivors of their families and extended families in Poland. By way of several miracles, the brothers were able to stay together through their experience, and would eventually survive 9 concentration camps before being liberated by the Americans. Shirley’s mother was 14 when her school was overrun by the Nazis, and she and her classmates were sent to live in tents in Moldavia (today known as Ukraine) to pick tobacco and cotton. Shirley’s mother was liberated years later by the Russians. Shirley’s parents then met in a refugee camp after the war. 

Mrs. Mills hopes that by sharing the knowledge and the history of her family’s story, one day horrific genocides will stop. “The only way to make sure genocides stop is by knowledge. Know about other genocides that are going on today. People are not good students, they repeat past mistakes over and over. Learn how to react to racism, bullyism, and hate and have the best and kindest life you can have.”

Afterward, Bella De Los Reyes and Joshua Howard, students who participated in Mrs. Ugland’s Holocaust History and Literature Course last year, shared their reflections regarding their time in the class.

“Hearing Mrs. Mills after taking the Holocaust class was hard,” explained De Los Reyes, “but I’m glad I got the opportunity to meet Mrs. Mills. Most people do not get that opportunity and I find it important to know about the Holocaust and know what genocide looks like so we can stop it from happening again.”

“The Holocaust Remembrance Chapel was a special time for PCA students, parents, and faculty to gather and commemorate the Victims and Survivors of this watershed event in history,” said Faculty Member Kristi Ugland, who orchestrated the event. “Mrs. Shirley Mills shared her personal family story of hardship and pain but highlighted the times when God's providence spared her father, mother, and uncle on several occasions. It's important to continue to bring these types of vital experiences to the students so that it can help them with understanding history and growing in empathy for others.”

PCA thanks Mrs. Mills and the Jewish Federation of Charleston for honoring our campus with the gift of Mills’ parents' story and words of wisdom and hope for a brighter and kinder future.

PCA Student Makes School History Being Selected For All State Band

8th grader, Levi Song, is the first PCA band student to earn a chair in the South Carolina All State Band. He began preparing for his audition months ago. The audition includes scales, a prepared solo, musical terminology, and sightreading. He worked very hard to prepare all the parts of his audition in the months that led up to the first audition.  

The first audition was for the SC Region 4 Honor Band. He competed against other middle school euphonium players from the following counties: Charleston, Dorchester, Beaufort, Calhoun, Colleton, Jasper, and Orangeburg. After that audition, he had earned 1st chair in the region band and this meant he was the top scoring euphonium player in our region and his score qualified him to audition for the SC All State Band. He also worked hard in the weeks between the two auditions to get himself even more prepared for the second round of auditions. Now he would be competing with the best middle school euphonium players from each of the six regions. After his second audition, he earned 2nd chair in the SC Junior All State Band. PCA Band Director Mike Doll says, "I am very proud of Levi and the hard work and determination he put into his auditions. It is a privilege to teach Levi and have him in our band!" 

Levi set three PCA records this year: first band student to earn a first chair in the region band, first PCA band student to earn a callback to audition for the All State Band, and the first PCA band student to represent Christ, himself, his family, and PCA in the All State Band. He will participate in the All State Clinic at Furman University on March 10-12. Congratulations Levi!