On Friday September 21, HHS became part of something far larger than the school. Once again the art department, and any other teachers who wanted to become involved, participated in the Pinwheels for Peace project to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The project was started in 2005 by two Florida art teachers, and in 2011 three and a half million pinwheels were created and placed in different locations. HHS students and teachers placed their pinwheels on the front lawn.
“[Peace is] something we don’t hear about often,” art teacher Jauan Brooks said.
All art classes participated in creating the pinwheels out of 7 X 7 rectangles, with one side having imagery and the other some sort of text. The classes talked about the concepts of peace and conflict. This is senior Emma Peifer’s fourth year participating in the project through the art program.
“International Day of Peace is important because it empowers people for peace,” Peifer said.
She has been challenged to discover her own beliefs about peace.
“Peace is different to everybody,” senior and fellow art student Sarah Rose said.
Some teachers outside of the art department wanted to join in the honoring of the International Day of Peace. English teacher Cathy Soensken had her ninth grade students make pinwheels.
“It’s a worthy project that sends a positive message from students and unifies the school in sending a message of peace,” Soensken said .
Her students researched famous quotes relating to peace and wrote personal statements for their pinwheels. She hopes they came away with a new sense of having peace as a part of their life.
Brooks has found the website Peace One Day, which is behind International Peace Day, particularly inspiring. Peace day aims for a global cease-fire once a year, and has accomplished much over the past ten years. This includes vaccinating children in areas hard to reach because of conflict, and bringing humanitarian aid, such as food and mosquito nets to areas that need it. In 2010, 500,000 women and children were vaccinated in Kabul against diseases such as polio.
“I think too often we give lip service to the concept of peace without actually…putting those words into action,” Soensken said.
HHS students and teachers may be far removed from the conflict and trauma that takes place on a daily basis in many parts of the world, but the Pinwheels for Peace project allows them to get involved in a global effort for peace.
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