City officials joined BHUSD Board members and school leaders in commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11. (photo courtesy of BHUSD)

Beverly Hills High School students commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11 that included student readings, personal reflections and the raising of an American flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol on the day of the attacks.

The assembly was held in the K.L. Peters Auditorium and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Beverly Hills police and fire departments’ Honor Guard. Principal Loan Sriruksa welcomed students, Beverly Hills Unified School District officials and city representatives.

Students received cards bearing the names of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks and, at the invitation of BHUSD Superintendent Alex Cherniss, stood and read the names aloud.

Board of Education President Judy Manouchehri highlighted the story of Edward Straub, the grandfather of a current Beverly Hills High School senior. Straub was working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when he was killed.

“Today, we remember Edward Straub as a person, not merely as one of the nearly 3,000 lives lost,” Manouchehri said. “We remember him as a father, a husband, a colleague and now, as the grandfather of one of our own Normans.”

Manouchehri encouraged students who were born years after the attacks to learn about the people who were affected.

“You do not have to have lived through Sept. 11 to remember it. You do not have to have witnessed that day to honor its victims,” Manouchehri said. “You honor them by learning their stories.”

Students also watched an excerpt from the documentary “9/11: One Day in America,” which includes firsthand accounts from people who experienced the attacks.

Other BHUSD schools held age-appropriate activities under the theme “Remember Through Kindness and Service,” focusing on tolerance, gratitude and community service.

After the high school assembly, students gathered on the Grand Lawn, where Beverly Hills police and fire officials presented school resource officers with an American flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 11, 2001. BHHS senior and Model United Nations President Benny Salzman helped arrange for the flag to be donated to the school.

The flag will be permanently displayed on campus. Officers raised it to half-staff as the Beverly Hills High School Madrigals performed “America the Beautiful,” concluding the observance.

For information, visit bhusd.org.