by Deborah Silverthorn

Special to DJW

Dallas' area Jewish Day school students spent Sept. 11 remembering, praying, singing and paying tribute to the victims of just 365 days earlier.

Akiba Academy, Mesorah High School for Girls, Solomon Schechter Academy, Isaac Mayer Wise Academy and Yavneh Academy held memorial programs.

Students in Akiba Academy grades 3 through 8 created a red, white and blue chalk canvas on the school's driveway with designs and words: "Home of the brave," "The world changed today," "9-11 Freedom will never end," and "Strength." In the auditorium, two beams of light shot through a cloud of smoke, paying homage to the twin towers.

Poems and letters from children in New York were read during a slideshow of Akiba students' artwork. Everyone received a card with the photograph, name and age of one who died in New York, Washington, D.C., or Shanksville, Pa., listing victims' employers, hometowns and place where they died. "To everyone we lost, we will not forget you," reads the card.

Poems and letters from children in New York were read during a slideshow of Akiba students' artwork. Everyone received a card with the photograph, name and age of one who died in New York, Washington, D.C., or Shanksville, Pa., listing victims' employers, hometowns and place where they died. "To everyone we lost, we will not forget you," reads the card.

The young women of Mesorah High School, began the day with prayer and moved into an expression of their hearts with poems, essays or drawings that shared their feelings. "We wanted the students to put their thoughts down on paper and to, if they chose, share them," said Headmaster Rabbi Yonaton Schick. "In this is the week of Yom Kippur, we wanted to see how their thoughts, translated onto paper, might influence their actions in the coming year."

Tzedakah was collected and on Wednesday alone, the school raised $2,118 which will be sent to the Jewish Board of Families and Children's Services of New York City for the World Trade Center Disaster trauma centers, which offer counseling for children and their families for bereavement, grief, loss and traumas related to the attacks.

The faculty at Isaac Mayer Wise Academy decided that looking toward the future and celebrating the importance of peace and love in the world would be their focus. A morning service filled with song and joy made that message clear. As teacher Debbie Diamond led the group, mostly adorned in red, white and blue attire, in the singing of songs like "Oseh Shalom," "Modeh Ani" and "G-d Bless America," smiles and hugs were the true voices "heard." "We wanted to pay our respects appropriately," said Head of School Susan Horowitz. "We wanted an upbeat and positive day to ensure our kids felt safe and sound and we accomplished that goal with a beautiful morning."

Yavneh Academy seniors Rachel Ames and Yasmin Axel organized a program of emotion and strength. "We didn't want the day to be 'just a day,'" said Ames. During morning services, the students and faculty took time to remember a day they all wish hadn't happened.