Upcoming Newton Schools Events: Holocaust Survivor, Fundraiser

NEWTON, MA — Students at Newton Public Schools will have the chance to both learn and give back thanks to upcoming events at Newton North, Newton South and at South Auditorium.

On Monday, Feb. 24, students at Newton high schools will hear from a Holocaust survivor who has agreed to speak to students through a partnership with a local synagogue.

Elly Gotz, Holocaust survivor and memoirist, is set to speak with students at Newton North at 10:50 a.m. on Monday and to students at Newton South at 1:25 p.m.

Gotz is a retired engineer, businessman and pilot, and he shares his story with some 15,000 students a year through presentations like those being hosted at Newton schools. According to his website, Gotz's presentation focuses on teaching lessons of tolerance and helping students understand the conditions that lead to genocid

Gotz's website states hew as born in Kovno, Lithuania, in 1928. After the war, his family moved to Germany, then to Norway as refugees in 1947.

Gotz went on to live in Zimbabwe and Johannesburg, where he graduated from the University of Witwatersrand with an engineering degree. Gotz, his wife ,Esme, and their three children immigrated to Toronto in 1964.

The now retired businessman, engineer and pilot speaks to some 15,000 students a year about on tolerance and the conditions that bring about genocide.

This Thursday, Feb. 27, Newton Public Schools students and their families are invited to attend a fundraiser that goes toward supporting a student exchange program to Ghana.

This inaugural event, the Ghana Exchange Celebration and Fundraiser, will be held Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the South Auditorium.

Attendees will be able to sample African food, see an African drumming/dance performance and more.

For those attending, donations will be taken at the door. Children 10-years-old and under can enter for free.