PCES celebrates World Peace Day

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

GUILFORD — Through various art projects and a moment of silence on the school lawn, students and staff at Piscataquis Community Elementary School observed International World Peace Day on Sept. 21.

At noon the entire student body went outside and lined up to face the front lawn of the school which was decorated with pinwheels made by the students for International World Peace Day and in conjunction with the Pinwheels for Peace Project. With the 300 pinwheels made by the pre-kindergarten through grade 6 pupils twirling in the breeze, second-grader Jaiyde True ran the school bell to start and then conclude the moment of silence.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

INTERNATIONAL WORLD PEACE DAY AT PCES — Second-grader Jaiyde True rang the bell to open and conclude a moment of silence for International World Peace Day at Piscataquis Community Elementary School in Guilford on Sept. 21. Students and staff came outside for the moment of silence, with the lawn decorated with over 300 Pinwheels for Peace created by each pre-K through grade 6 student.

“When I started the year off I really wanted to start off upbeat,” art teacher Jane Daniels, who organized the International World Peace Day activities at PCES, said. She explained that a manhunt for a domestic violence murder suspect was underway in the region when school was letting out last spring and had overshadowed what should have been a joyous time for teachers and students.

Daniels said she has a number of activities planned throughout the year, which tie in with the art curriculum, and the first was making pinwheels for International World Peace Day. Students first put words of peace on their creations and then could design their pinwheels however they saw fit.

“They put their heart in this, they really worked hard,” Daniels said.

The students also decorated the sidewalks with chalk as a “Chalk4Peace” project. Daniels said the walkways were covered up over the weekend to keep the designs from washing away prior to Sept. 21.

“I am very proud of them, this is what we are working on this year — peaceful resolutions,” she said. Daniels said in class students are learning how artists use their mediums to express their feelings, and the pupils then did likewise through their pinwheels and the sidewalk art.

The Bangor Police Department uses a “Duck of Justice” mascot to promote its work and Daniels incorporated this into International World Peace Day. “We have written a letter and hope to hear back from them and hopefully meet sometime later in the year,” she said.

PCES now has it’s own bird, the “Duck of Peace” named Eirene after the Greek goddess of peace. Daniels decorated a duck decoy in the aboriginal style of art, which she said third-graders are learning about, to be on hand for the International World Peace Day.

“At the end of the year we are going to do another big art project,” Daniels said, as the students will be thinking about peace throughout the ensuing eight months.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

DUCK OF PEACE — PCES art teacher Jane Daniels made Eirene, the school’s “Duck of Peace”, for International World Peace Day on Sept. 21 as all students at the school in Guilford created pinwheels decorated with the pupils’ words of peace and their own designs. Standing on the front lawn are sixth-graders, from left, Mary Morin, Taylor Folsom holding Eirene the Duck of Peace, Hailee Hartford and Corbin Toner.