News & Events

Seven Norfolk Academy students earned honors in this year's Elie Wiesel Writing and Visual Arts Competition. 

This annual contest is presented by the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Students in public and private schools in Virginia and beyond are invited to enter this competition, which encourages exploration of moral courage.

• Nathan J. '30 - 1st place, Junior Video category
• Cana F. '25 - 2nd place, Senior Essay
• Anna B. '25 - 3rd place, Senior Essay
• Vivi D. '26 - 3rd place, Senior Poetry
• Michael L. '26 - Special Commendation, Senior Essay
• Kevin P. '25 - Special Commendation, Senior Poetry
• Olivia R. '25 - Special Commendation, Senior Essay

In addition, Upper School English Teacher Megan McKittrick received the Esther Goldman Teacher Award from the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater for her innovative and meaningful approach to teaching about the Holocaust. Wiesel's memoir, Night, was chosen by Norfolk Academy's English Department as the common read for juniors and seniors. McKittrick created interactive lesson plans to reinforce themes of the memoir. Using questions from the commission's writing competition about AI (artificial intelligence), McKittrick planned a lesson in which students interviewed a Holocaust survivor online, using the USC Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony program. Drawing from recorded interviews, this program uses language processing to enable a user to ask questions and receive a real-time response drawn from the interviews. As part of the award, McKittrick's class took a field trip this week to the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond. The award was presented by Esther Goldman's granddaughter, Lauren Barkan, NA Class of 1994.