School honors International Day of Peace with pinwheels


              ADVANCE FOR THE WEEKEND OF OCT. 3-4 AND THEREAFTER - In a Sept. 14, 2015 photo, Students set up pinwheels celebrating the International Day of Peace Sept. 14 at the Montessori School of Bemis in Jackson, Tenn.  (Katherine Burgess/The Jackson Sun via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT
ADVANCE FOR THE WEEKEND OF OCT. 3-4 AND THEREAFTER - In a Sept. 14, 2015 photo, Students set up pinwheels celebrating the International Day of Peace Sept. 14 at the Montessori School of Bemis in Jackson, Tenn. (Katherine Burgess/The Jackson Sun via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Pinwheels blew in the wind outside the Montessori School at Bemis recently, honoring the International Day of Peace.

"When you're being kind to one another you can express your feelings on these peace pinwheels, and just write it down - and then the wind will take it away and spread it across the world," said Emily McGuire, 11. "I think it's a beautiful thing to have color and different projects in front of the school."

"Whirled Peace" is an art installation project that was started in 2005 by two art teachers in Florida. Last year, more than 4.5 million pinwheels were placed in over 3,500 locations across the world. This was the first year for the Montessori School at Bemis to participate.

Dr. Callie W. Dollar, reading language arts instructor for sixth through eighth grade, coordinated the project. Every student in the school had the chance to make pinwheels alongside their grandparents on Grandparents Day.

The middle school students later "planted" the pinwheels on the school's front lawn.

"It's a silent way that we bring awareness to peace to the community," Dollar said. "Clearly, if you drive by and you see a bunch of pinwheels in the yard, you're going to ask, 'What is that?' It's a peaceful way that we release our thoughts and hopes for peace into our school, into our community and into the world."

Larger, yellow pinwheels had the word "peace" written on them in different languages, including Russian, Greek, Swahili, Polish, Spanish and Hindi.

Annalise Bennett, 11, said the pinwheels were a way to show anger and fear - all non-peaceful things - leaving the students at the school.

"When the wind goes it's just blowing it away, basically," she said. "I also think it's a good way for the middle school to get interactive with the littler kids."

The only kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school in the Jackson-Madison County School System, the Montessori School has its middle school split into a separate hallway, Bennett said. The middle school students each chose an elementary classroom to help make the pinwheels on Grandparents Day, she said.

Some pinwheels had "peaceful thoughts" written on them. Others had peace signs, while others had bright blocks of color.

Aidan DeSpain, 11, said it would be exciting for the younger students to come out and see their creations set up in the front yard.

"I think it was fun for the entire school, just the fact that it's arts and crafts," DeSpain said.

Caleb Coley, 11, said he was surprised and happy to be participating in the project, and that seeing "peace" in so many languages was meaningful.

"Peace doesn't just stay in one place," Coley said. "It goes all over the world."

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Information from: The Jackson Sun, http://www.jacksonsun.com

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