nual presentation on the Holo-
caust to a group of 10th-graders.
Under the direction of social
studies teacher Pat O'Conner,
the students spent the day away
from their regular studies to im-
merse themselves in a Holocaust
curriculum. The day was the
culmination of a segment of
studies in an English and hu-
manities course which included
hundreds of pages of reading,
several writing assignments and
other projects.
On the day of the presenta-
tion, 300 sophomores piled into
the school's auditorium to view
Schindler's List, a Steven Spiel-
berg film. Following a lunch
break, the students broke into
groups to hear the speakers talk
about their Holocaust experi-
ences.
"This is the most poignant
chapter they have to go
through," Ms. O'Conner said.
That is in part due to the re-
ligious and ethnic makeup of the
student body at Dakota High
School. Of the students, about
10 in the school are Muslim;
the rest are Christian, with

Catholics making up about
three-quarters of the population.
None of the students is Jewish.
"That is one of the reasons we
do this," Ms. O'Conner said. "For
the most part, this is a very ho-
mogenous crowd."
"They do not come in contact
with diversity," she said. "At
times that can lead to gross in-
tolerance. But it is very difficult
for that to happen after a day
like today."
Nathan Roth of Southfield
said he and his wife, Edith, told
their stories to the students and
were impressed by their ques-
tions and their attention.
"We find it very, very inter-
esting," he said. "They listened
the whole time. The bell rang
before we were finished with
their questions."
Ms. O'Conner said she asks
the Holocaust survivors to tell
their stories to the students in
part to give them examples of
courageous people.
"I want my kids to have
heroes, and these people are
heroes," she said. 0

she is delighted to see the Levy
siblings take over, and has helped
to ensure a smooth transition
by volunteering in the school
throughout the year. "Jonny and
Miriam both trained under me
when I was director," she said. "I
know I can trust them."
Eleven children stayed on this
year, and the Levys recruited 10
additional students via word-of-
mouth. Although Workmen's Cir-
cle parents were apprehensive
about the change, many who en-

What's In A Name?

Under new management, Workmen's Circle
preschool becomes Fieldstone, but parents say
the program is as good as ever.

JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER

A

year ago, parents at the
Workmen's Circle nursery
school were worried. With
Rena Amit, the school's di-
rector of 15 years scheduled to re-
tire and with no replacement
found, the Oak Park school
known for its secular Jewish cur-
riculum was on the verge of clos-
ing.
First, the bad news: The Work-
men's Circle nursery school did
close, with its board announcing
last May that after interviewing
more than 30 candidates, none
had been willing to take on the
demanding but low-paying post
of director.
The good news: One week lat-
er, the sister and brother team of

Miriam and Jonny Levy an-
nounced that they would rent the
facilities from Workmen's Circle
and, under the name
Fieldstone School,
carry on the torch for
Ms. Amit.
Opening their own
nursery school was a
longtime dream for
Mr. and Ms. Levy. As
a teacher at Work-
men's Circle, Mr.
Levy was impressed
by Ms. Amit's educa-
tional philosophy, one
which_ encourages
creativity and the de- Miriam Levy works on a project with Maya Edery.
velopment of social
skills. Ms. Amit says
WHAT'S IN A NAME? page 18

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