Before morning announcements commenced on Monday, HHS recognized Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR).  Assistant Principal Denae Nurnberg first explained the significance of the day, then led the school in a few seconds of silence.

“We use this day to remember those we have lost and serves as a reminder to continue to work towards preventing such heinous acts from continuing,” Nurnberg said in the announcement.

TDOR is a nationally-recognized occasion that comes at the heels of Transgender Awareness Week. Both the week and the day were organized by GLAAD, a LGBT-rights organization. The day has been recurring on November 20 since 1999; it was first organized in memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.

So far in 2017, 23 transgender people have been killed as a result of hate crimes, according to GLAAD’s website.