SEBASTIAN — More than 500 pinwheels blanketed the small field surrounding the flagpole outside Sebastian Elementary School, each one a child’s hope for peace, planted on International Day of Peace recognized Wednesday.
“This is a way for them to be able to express their feelings of peace,” said Sebastian Elementary art teacher Jennifer Strazzulla, adding that they are bombarded daily with images of violence and discord.
Using pencils for posts, the students folded sheets of decorated paper into pinwheels and attached them to straws with metal brads. Each pinwheel as unique as the student, though they all followed the peace theme.
“It was really fun,” said 8-year-old Caitlyn Cavanaugh in Mrs. Mucci’s class. “I didn’t know you could make a pinwheel.”
Caitlyn said that it is important for people to be peaceful.
“It will make the world a better place,” she said.
Fellow classmate Samantha Byrnes, 8, decorated her pinwheel with a rainbow, a turtle – Sebastian Elementary’s mascot – and peace signs.
She, too, believes peace is a better alternative to non-peace.
“We should be nice and have fun,” said Janyah Royal, 7. “It doesn’t matter what’s on the outside – but the inside is what counts.”
Seven-year-old Nicky Marlowen walked through the field of pinwheels, stooping to re-plant fallen pinwheels.
“I want to be helpful,” he said. “It’s good to be peaceful and help others.”
This was the first year Sebastian Elementary School participated with Pinwheels for Peace on International Day of Peace, according to Strazzulla.
“It creates a sense of community,” the teacher said. “This is a simple way” for students to learn the concept and promote it.
Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers of Coconut Creek, Fla., as a way for students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives.
The project was held in conjunction with International Day of Peace, which was established in 1981 by the United Nations as a global cease-fire.
During that day, world health organizations are better able to reach children in war-torn countries to provide medical attention and immunizations.
For more information about Pinwheels for Peace, visit http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com and for more on International Day of Peace, visit http://internationaldayofpeace.org.
