Sumter students celebrate Pinwheels for Peace

Everyone at Alice Drive Elementary School had a groovy time celebrating Pinwheels for Peace on Friday. All students in the school made a pinwheel to represent peace, and each class decorated the front lawn of the school with their pinwheels. In today's world, peace needs to become more than just a word. ADE took part in the international art project by "planting" pinwheels with messages of peace. Students learned about the project during art class this month and that "Peace Begins with Me!" Through their words and actions they can be peacemakers in their homes, schools, community and world. They were excited to "plant" their pinwheels on the school grounds as a public statement and art exhibit/installation. Pinwheels for Peace was started in 2005 by two art teachers from Coconut Creek, Florida, as a way for students to express their feelings about what's going on in the world and in their lives. In the first year, groups in more than 1,325 locations throughout the world were spinning pinwheels on Sept. 21, and there were approximately 500,000 pinwheels spinning throughout the world. Last year, more than 4 million pinwheels were spinning in more than 3,500 locations, including the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, Africa and South America. This project is non-political. To each of us, peace can take on a different meaning, but, in the end, it all comes down to a simple definition: a state of calm and serenity, with no anxiety, the absence of violence, freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people.