In today’s world, peace needs to become more than just a word. East St. John Elementary of LaPlace has taken part in an International art and literacy project, “Pinwheels for Peace” by “planting” pinwheels with colorful designs in front of the school.

Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, 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. In the first year, groups in over 1,325 locations throughout the world were spinning pinwheels – there were approximately 500,000 pinwheels spinning throughout the world. Last year (year 6), more than 3.5 million pinwheels were spinning in over 3,500 locations, including the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, Africa and South America.

This project is non-political – peace doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with the conflict of war, it can be related to violence/intolerance in our daily lives, to peace of mind. To each individual, 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.”  Sandy Guillot, ESJE art teacher, introduced the project to students in second grade through sixth grade. “There is too much negative behavior in our world today. A project like “Pinwheels for Peace” can bring a positive outlook in such a simple (yet colorful) way.”