APH Reflects on the 20th Anniversary of September 11

Morning Meeting is a beloved tradition for our whole school community to come together each week and share joys, reflections, concerns and celebrate achievements. We’ve created a sacred time twice a week for our school community to take a moment of silence, pause and reflect on the pressing issues of the day. This week, the APH community took the time to reflect with a moment of silence as we remembered the 20th anniversary of September 11.

Mr. Williams’ Philosophy elective class, who will also be studying a novel centered on the events of 9/11, helped lead this remembrance (Molly B.’22, Sydney W. ’22, Zoe R, ’22, Leia S. ’23). The reflection is as follows:

“On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners– two out of Boston and one each out of Newark, New Jersey and Washington, DC. Two of the planes targeted the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed in a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

3000 people lost their lives in the attacks. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in human history.

The attacks took place on American soil, but their impact was felt around the world. Citizens of 77 different countries across the globe were among the casualties. There were people of every age, race, gender, and religion among the victims.

Though none of the students in this room were born yet, we all live in a world shaped by the terrible events of that day.

Our reflection is from author David Levithan, who wrote,

‘What separates us from the chaos is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.’

We now invite you to join in a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of September 11th and to reflect on our own capacities for ongoing peace and healing in our world.”