MONTREAL — Shirel Attar was remembered by her fellow high school students at Marymount Academy in an emotional, but dignified, memorial that included candlelighting, singing and poetry reading.Marymount Academy students gather for the dedication of a tree planted in memory of their classmate, Shirel Attar. 

Marymount Academy students gather for the dedication of a tree planted in memory of their classmate, Shirel Attar. From left are Joshua Casanova, Shakeira Bernicky, Stephanie Lopez, Kelsey Dos Santos, Ashley Ighorewo, Niroshana Thirunavukarasu and Priscilla Guerra.

MONTREAL — Shirel Attar was remembered by her fellow high school students at Marymount Academy in an emotional, but dignified, memorial that included candlelighting, singing and poetry reading.

Many of the 200 girls and boys who gathered Sept. 22 in the school’s cafeteria wept, as did the staff and other adults. All who spoke stressed how beloved Shirel quickly became during her one year at the school in 2009-2010 and that her spirit will have positive impact.

They wore blue armbands they had made with Shirel’s name printed on it and decorated with a white ribbon and tiny plastic dove, as they sat solemnly watching the proceedings.

The mood was set when the school choir, dressed in black, sang Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton’s heart-rending ballad that he wrote after the accidental death of his young son.

Grade 8 student Rachelle Allen composed a poem for her late friend in which she asked “I want to know how she’s doing so far away/ Is she laughing and running today/ I’d love just a little peak into heaven, to know how she is doing.”

Another friend Bianca Saudelli, in her poem, said she thinks of Shirel as just beginning a new journey, “resting from sorrow and tears,” and that “she will never pass away.

Attar, 14, died Aug. 9 at her Côte St. Luc home. Her brother Maor, 18, has been charged with her first-degree murder.

Shirel attended Grade 8 at Marymount last year, after going to Jewish People’s and Peretz Schools (JPPS) and Grade 7 at Bialik High School.

Vice-principal Debra Michael represented JPPS at the memorial. She told The CJN that Shirel, whom she had known for several years and had taught, was “a very sweet, very quiet girl.”

Marymount, which is under the English Montreal School Board, has about 700 students who come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and areas of the West End, and its curriculum includes an international baccalaureate (IB) program.

Principal Craig Olenik said that the turnout, which was voluntary, is “a testament to the fact that Shirel touched so many lives in her short time” at Marymount.

“I was impressed by the number of students who came forward to express their thoughts or be involved,” he said. “I am overwhelmed by the grace, maturity and caring we have seen exhibited today.”

The printed program of the service featured a drawing of a giraffe by Shirel and the quote: “I am very proud and satisfied of my work, the reason why was because I took my time and I was paying a lot of attention.”

Those words only underlined how brief Shirel’s days on earth were.

On the table at the front of the room was a burning red taper used to light three memorial candles, representing the past, present and future, said spiritual facilitator Erico Santos.

One of Shirel’s closest friends, Destiny Hinckson, lit the first candle and spoke of Shirel’s brief life as having been a gift that brought “many joys and special moments.” She sang a solo rendition of the inspirational You Raise Me Up, made popular by Josh Groban, her clear voice cracking at times.

The second candle was lit by Tracy Mangel, co-ordinator of the IB program, and the third by Santos, who said it symbolized hope, despite this tragedy.

Grade 11 student Darragh Kilkenny-Mondoux, a representative of LOVE (Leave Out Violence), made a few remarks. The award-winning national organization that aims to steer youth away from violence was founded in 1993 by Twinkle Rudberg, whose husband was murdered by a 14-year-old boy in Montreal.

“It’s disheartening, but not discouraging, when things like this happen, but we can take wisdom from this,” she said.

Kilkenny-Mondoux read a verse she wrote comparing Shirel to a star in the sky that vanishes, leaving the heavens less bright. “But stars don’t die,” she concluded. “They may no longer be burning, but they are still there.”

The assembly then moved outdoors where, in front of the school, located on Côte St. Luc Road, a tree has been planted in memory of Shirel. Many students hugged each other as the double-trunked birch was dedicated.

Students and staff who need it have been able to seek counselling with the EMSB’s special trauma team.