CARLSBAD UNIFIED CONNECTIONS
May 10, 2024
Program Spotlight:
The Butterfly Project at CHMS - Remembrance and Hope
Last week, Calavera Hills Middle School dedicated a poignant mural depicting a tree bearing nearly 600 ceramic butterflies as leaves. Each butterfly, painted carefully by a student and cemented to the mural, represented one of the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust. The mural was the culminating activity for The Butterfly Project, which “brings age-appropriate lessons and activities about the Holocaust to the classrooms, teaching the dangers of hatred, bigotry, and indifference in today’s world.”
Teaching about those dangers fits into an important part of CHMS’s curriculum. For example, in their English classes, 8th graders read The Diary of Anne Frank and learn about the Holocaust and social responsibility. And, in recent years before her death, CHMS had been honored to hear Rose Schindler, a holocaust survivor, speak to the students about her experiences. Her dedication to sharing her message was extraordinary – even when she was quite frail, she insisted on visiting CHMS’s students.
Complementing this effort, eighth grade History teacher Stacy Salz’ curriculum has brought The Butterfly Project to CHMS. Each year, students in Mr. Lord’s and Ms. Salz’s history classes watch “Not the Last Butterfly,” an award-winning documentary film about The Butterfly Project. It tells the story of the Terezin concentration camp where the young Ela Weissberger was imprisoned. Ms. Weissberger, now in her eighties, recounts how she and other children in the camp managed to survive by expressing the trauma of their experiences through art, with the help of an artist and teacher who gave them hope.
After viewing the film, each eighth grader receives a plain butterfly and a card containing the biography of a child whose life was lost in the Holocaust. Then students design and paint the ceramic butterfly in honor of that child. Finally, the butterflies are fired and installed on the mural. The ceramic butterflies are funded through yearly PTSA mini-grants obtained by Ms. Salz. The mural design, the tree with butterflies for leaves, was selected in a student competition won by Samantha Johnstone. The 8th grade class of 2023 donated funds to commission local artist Sean Dominguez to paint the mural over spring break. An engraved plaque, donated by The Butterfly Project, has been installed on the mural.
“In Samantha’s inspiring drawing and Mr. Dominguez’s thoughtful design and artistry, the butterflies are the ‘stars’ of the mural, representing the children and renewed life,” says Ms. Salz. “By connecting with one child and painting the ceramic butterflies in their honor, the students cultivate empathy and social responsibility. The Butterfly Project leaves the students with a message of hope and healing. It will be an ongoing legacy for each 8th grade class. The mural will continue to grow with each passing year.
“Calavera Hills Middle School’s beautiful new mural, dedicated to the 1.5 million children who lost their lives in the Holocaust, provides a compelling lesson in history, while reminding us about the dangers of hatred and bigotry.”
The Butterfly Project is a nonprofit founded in 2006 in San Diego by artist
Cheryl Rattner Price and educator Jan Landau. The student-decorated butterflies are permanently displayed around the world to memorialize each of the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust. The current number of butterflies displayed worldwide is 348,360.
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Carlsbad Unified School District
Email: cusd@carlsbadusd.net
Website: https://www.carlsbadusd.net
Location: 6225 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA, USA
Phone: 760-331-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/CarlsbadUnifiedSchools
Twitter: @CarlsbadUSD