War uniform display aims to help high schoolers honour veterans
By KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on November 6, 2021.
The display is located in Medicine Hat's Crescent Heights High School and features several uniforms from the First and Second World Wars, a gas mask and a Remembrance Day wreath.--NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KINGItems from the First and Second World Wars are currently on display at Crescent Heights High School. The display was put together by Steven Kemp, a teacher at CHHS, and Sheila Donner, a retired teacher, as a way to honour Canada’s veterans while also providing students an opportunity to learn.
“It’s getting harder and harder, especially with COVID, to have real life experiences on Remembrance Day,” Shonna Barth, CHHS principal, told the News. “The display was created to bring history to the halls of CHHS, allowing education to inform understanding and shape values.”
“Students are at the age where they can truly understand the impact of the First and Second World Wars and how important it is to support and honour our veterans,” Barth said. “We encourage students to look past themselves and give back to the veterans that sacrificed their lives fighting for our freedoms.”
Barth says many students have taken note of the display.
“They seem a little bit reverent when they (walk past it),” said Barth. “It’s not glorifying what they’re seeing, it’s more paying respect.”
Medicine Hat’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 17 has been working with students at the school to further expand their understanding. Across the Medicine Hat Public School Division, students will continue to learn about world conflicts leading up to Remembrance Day.
