Voices of the Holocaust, an upper school elective class, unveiled individual final projects this week. Students chose a particular topic of the Holocaust and created a scrapbook recounting details from their in-depth research.

“I chose eugenics as my culminating class project,” said Anisa Kastle ’14. “The amount of history and material I learned was astounding.” Kastle explored and researched the components of eugenics and its role in the Holocaust. Kastle’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of her final project reflect her overall interest in the trimester-long class. “Mrs. Kwiatek is an amazing teacher. I’m blown away by her knowledge and how she engages the class in daily discussions.”

Candy Kwiatek is a social science instructor and
was honored last year with the Religion Newswriters Association’s Gerald A. Renner Enterprise award for her 2010 series in the Dayton Jewish Observer on the Ten Commandments. Kwiatek teaches classes within the religion and philosophy program at MVS.

“The Holocaust class has exceeded my expectations,” said Marla Guggenheimer ’13. “Mrs. Kwiatek is one of the brightest people I know. Her videos, visual aids, and lectures create such a positive learning experience.” For her final project, Guggenheimer studied America’s involvement in helping Holocaust escapees. All capstone reports are on display at the upper school front desk.

In addition to an in-depth study of the Holocaust, MVS offers other electives that provide greater global understanding on certain subject matters, including: history of rock and roll, world religions, international business, cultural anthropology, and Arabic literature.