Lincoln Junior High School students didn’t wait until Sept. 21 — officially International Peace Day — to declare their support for “whirled peace,” as the Pinwheels for Peace program calls it.
Students and faculty planted their homemade pinwheels Wednesday on school grounds, displaying them all day long and a bit ahead of other institutions around the world.
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Pinwheels for Peace organizers call the project “an art installation.” It began in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, of Florida, as “a way for students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives,” according to the Pinwheels for Peace website.
“Imagine…millions of pinwheels spinning in the wind — pinwheels in the United States, Great Britain, South America, Australia, the Middle East, Canada, Africa, Europe and Asia; pinwheels all over the world,” according to the website.
For Lincoln Junior High School, this marked the third year of involvement in the project, said Lincoln Junior High art teacher Stacey Lowery. It also marked the first year that younger students at Edison School participated although their creations were displayed inside the building rather than outside, she said.
“The kids and I have spoken about how important it is for the students here to do this because we’re one of the most diverse communities in the state,” Lowery said. “What an amazing statement that we, as a community, can come together for this installation and be a beacon for our community.”
Lowery said a lot of kids are talking to their parents about the project and what it represents. The kids made their pinwheels in various classes including art, she said, and this year parents and siblings also contributed at an open house.
“We wanted to expand beyond just Lincoln students,” Lowery said. “That was a starting point but we wanted to go further. We wanted Lincoln students to be ambassadors to our communities.”
In the first year, groups in more than 1,325 locations throughout the world were spinning pinwheels on Sept. 21, with about 500,000 pinwheels spinning throughout the world, according to event organizers.
In the 10th year in 2015, more than 4.5 million pinwheels were displayed and spinning in over 3,500 locations, they said.
The enthusiasm for the project was palpable Wednesday morning as dozens of students showed up before before school opened to help plant the pinwheels.
Lincoln Junior High Principal Lorenzo Cervantes said there is great value in kids having a larger connection to the world.
“The overall message is positive and helping our students connect with large communities is important,” he said. “We’re part of Lincoln and Skokie, but we want kids to feel a larger connection to positive movements outside of our smaller environment at the school, too.”
Cervantes said one of the nice parts about the project is that students write on their own pinwheels so they become more personal for them.
“The notion of students coming together with their own messages and knowing that other people feel that way too is empowering,” he said.
Lowery said she has joined this project at every school she’s taught at, knowing the enthusiasm and positive reaction from students it generates.
“I saw the impact it made on students so I knew it would be successful here, too,” she said.
Under clear skies and bright sunshine Wednesday, the impact was on view. Students were eager to point out their pinwheels and even to stand bedside them for a bit.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Nick Big, a sixth grader who participated in the project for the first time. “I like art and I want to spread this to other schools to do it so they can stand up for peace, too.”
@SKReviewMike
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