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"Giving
Peace a Chance"
Pupils placed paper pinwheels containing messages of peace outside
Shelton Intermediate School Friday to mark International Day of
Peace, an act repeated at numerous locations around the world.
About 30 members of the school's Teen CORP, which stands for Community
Outreach Program, placed them into the ground.
The pinwheels, fashioned from folded paper that was taped to pencils,
were decorated by seventh- and eighth-graders Wednesday. The pinwheels
were placed around a sign that reads "SIS for Whirled Peace."
Pinwheels were placed at about three dozen locations around the
state. Among other local participants were students at John S. Martinez
School in New Haven, where pinwheels with their thoughts on war
and peace, tolerance and living in harmony with others were placed
on the front lawn of the school at 100 James St.
The Mercy Center at Madison, a conference and retreat center run
by the Sisters of Mercy, held its own celebration of peace with
pinwheels Friday. The center had schoolchildren and volunteers coming
in all day to create brightly colored pinwheels and "plant" them
on the lawn facing Long Island Sound.
Sherill Baldwin, ecology director at the Mercy Center, planned to
start the day with a group reflection at the center's peace pole.
"We hope that people can take a deep breath and slow down for just
a moment and try to imagine what peace looks like," Baldwin said.
In Shelton, CORP co-adviser Kathy Maffucci said, "Our motto is 'Peace
Starts at Home' with our parents, our friends and each other."
Maffucci credited school Headmaster Howard Gura, who is promoting
the importance of character development. He has initiated Project
Wisdom, she said, and the pinwheel activity is the kickoff.
"Project Wisdom will be using words, and quotes and slogans to get
students to understand wisdom," Maffucci said.
Students agreed it was a worthwhile project to raise awareness about
peace. "It's nice to show that we want to help others in the community,"
said seventh-grader Katelin Sala, 11. "I like helping other people."
"It's cool because everybody will know how we feel about peace in
the world," said fellow seventh-grader Dena Miccinello, 12.
"We wrote down words that mean peace," said classmate Jocelyn Mongillo,
13. One of the pinwheels said, "We need to stop war and all love
in peace."
Three students who are part of the in-school TV station filmed a
segment for Fox 61 Student News about the pinwheel project. The
students, all eighth-graders, were Shannon Bolton, Kelsey Marschall
and Valerie Emini, all 13.
Communications technology teacher Dennis David, who was behind the
camera, is adviser.
Maffucci said the project was initiated in 2005 by two Florida teachers
who wanted to give their students an opportunity through their artwork
to make a statement about peace.
According to www.pinwheelsforpeace.com
more than one million pinwheels were spinning worldwide on International
Day of Peace in 2006.
Register reporter Abbe Smith contributed to this story.
Reprinted with permission from New Haven Register.
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