On Tuesday, September 16, senior students of Mendham High School were welcomed into the auditorium during the afternoon middle period for an assembly about 9/11 to learn about the attacks. The assembly lasted the entire period, and students listened to various speakers, including firefighters and filmmakers who documented the day.
As students sat down, Mr. Ward welcomed everyone to the assembly. Before the speakers began, Mr. Ward brought Ellie Kourkoulakos, a junior here at Mendham, to the stage to play a violin piece. He said that students “want to talk at the beginning, [but] at the same time, you’re about to explore like really emotionally deep content.” Mr. Ward first heard Ellie’s violin playing through his public speaking course, and he was so impressed that he invited her to play in front of the entire senior class before they dove into this assembly. Mr. Ward is extremely passionate about the effect of music, especially how Ellie conveys that effect in her unique way with her own music. He says that “Ellie played the violin for our class, and she ripped the top of our head off with her ability.” During the assembly, students listened to the somber violin and quickly calmed down. Following the violin, the firefighters and filmmakers who had witnessed the attacks joined the stage, where they started to speak about the tragedy and what they learned from their experience that day. Students listened as they discussed their lives and how they impacted other people on the day. Retired firefighter Billy Spade said, “You don’t decide if people live or die, you give them the best chance.” The filmmakers discussed how they felt as though they needed to make their movie about 9/11, claiming that “nobody wanted a movie about firefighters,” but they believed they should make one anyway. Towards the end of the presentation, students were given the chance to ask questions. Overall, everyone in the auditorium gained valuable knowledge about the events of 9/11 through this incredible assembly.
Mr. Ward’s relation to the firemen originated during a field trip that used to take place many years ago. He remarked, “My relationship with the guest speakers stems from a field trip that began in 2012 and ran for over 10 years.” Mr. Ward is very passionate about allowing students to learn about the 9/11 attacks from people who experienced them firsthand. He stated, “I think to understand our current world, they have to know things that have preceded us. And I find that students want to learn about it.” Mr. Ward used to host field trips to Ladder One before this assembly, and he feels disappointed that the trips are no longer happening. Recently, he reconnected with one of the firefighters who offered to come to Mendham, instead of the school coming to the station in New York. Even though there is no longer a trip to Ladder One, Mr. Ward thinks that this assembly had some advantages over the field trip. He commented, “There’s no longer any 9/11 firemen [at Ladder One]. It doesn’t mean there’s no value from the firemen that are there, because there are, but if we did take the trip, we would lose the perspective of people that were there on the ground that day.” Mr. Ward wants everyone to be knowledgeable about tragedies like this and takes a particular interest in educating students about them. He believes that everyone should be able to understand what happened and how it impacted people, regardless of when the event happened. Mr. Ward believes, “I think the worst thing that somebody could say is, you weren’t born, you can’t understand it, because when you say that, it just closes the door on learning right away.”
Mr. Ward was not the only person engaged in the assembly; so were the students of Mendham High School. The senior class of Mendham was able to gain invaluable information about the 9/11 attacks and what it was like being in New York that day. Student Adam Kondratowicz mentioned, “I’m sure a lot of people know about 9/11, but I think it’s important for people to hear about first-hand accounts like that.” The senior body was engaged in the firefighters’ and filmmakers’ experiences, trying their best to understand what happened that day. While difficult to picture something that they couldn’t live through, the Class of 2026 did their best to understand what happened during the attacks. They sympathized with the speakers and pictured what they would do if they were in their situation. Adam also shared, “It made me feel inspired, because they gave us really personal stories.”
This assembly was valuable for everyone involved. Mr. Ward was able to reconnect with old acquaintances and share his passion for teaching students about 9/11, and students gained important knowledge on the events of 9/11 and how it affected the people who experienced the disaster. Mendham will forever honor the day of 9/11 and celebrate the people whose lives were lost or changed forever on that day.
