Lafayette students paint pinwheels for peace

LAFAYETTE — In today’s world, peace needs to become more than just a word.
On September 21, 2017, the Lafayette Township School District took part in an International art and literacy project, Pinwheels for Peace by “planting” pinwheels with messages of peace at the Lafayette Township School District.
Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two Art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, of 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 over 1,325 locations throughout the world were spinning pinwheels on Sept. 21 — there were approximately 500,000 pinwheels spinning throughout the world. Last year (year 11), 2016, over 4.5 million pinwheels were spinning in over 3,500 locations, including the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Locally, Mrs. Salerno coordinated the Pinwheels for Peace project this year.
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 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.”
The students of the Lafayette Township School District created pinwheels as a visual expression their feelings and wishes for peace.