On September 21, the front lawn at O’Neill Middle School was filled with colorful pinwheels spinning in the brisk wind.
Every seventh-grader, as well as eighth-graders currently participating in the school’s new Social Networking and Communications course, designed pinwheels and planted them outside that day as part of a celebration of the International Day of Peace. As an added touch, staff and students arranged the pinwheels in the shape of a large peace sign.
“I read about Pinwheels for Peace in an art magazine, and thought it was a great idea,” said art teacher Alane Lezatte, who spearheaded the activity at O’Neill. “The idea is to promote the concept of anti-bullying and anti-violence, which fits in well with what we are teaching here at O’Neill.”
The International Day of Peace was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981, and the first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. Pinwheels for Peace was created by two art teachers in 2005. According to the website, www.pinwheelsforpeace.com, the estimate is that 3.5 million pinwheels—including more than 300 at O’Neill—were spinning on Sept. 21, 2011 in countries around the world.
