Students at Dickinson Avenue Elementary School took part in a national observance of peace on Sept 20 as they held their handmade pinwheels high in honor of the International Day of Peace on Sept 21. 

Pinwheels for Peace was created in 2005 by two art teachers in Coconut Creek, Florida, as a way for students to express their beliefs and promote peace around the world. 

Principal Laurie Welch Storch said that peace can mean something different to different people. Some may describe peace as kindness, tolerance or respect. “It’s an understanding that we are all different,” she said, adding that each of the students’ pinwheels were just as unique.

Over the past several days, students created pinwheels and wrote their thoughts about peace on one side and decorated the other with pictures and drawings to visually express their feelings. 

To conclude the event, Amy Carruthers, the school’s music teacher, led the students in singing “Song of Peace.”