Witnessing History at Vinson Hall

On Monday and Thursday of this week, Dr. Metz's grade 10 English classes met with residents at one of our community partners, Vinson Hall in McLean, as a culminating testimony project following their reading of the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Students interviewed older adults who lived through significant historical events and testified from a first-person perspective. Each student was paired with a resident from Vinson Hall to learn from the rich histories they were sharing. Among the participants were two ambassadors, an Emmy-winning sports producer, and even former Potomac teachers. The conversations were rich and lively. Students took notes while recording their interviews using the otter.ai app, creating a voice-to-text transcript. The reciprocity and engagement were meaningful and enriching for all, and our students embodied our core values of respect, integrity, and generosity of spirit.