Ideas 'spin' around about tolerance and peace
Parsons Elem. participates in 'Pinwheels for Peace' event
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

Students at Parsons Elementary School in North Brunswick decorated pinwheels and placed them on the front lawn of the school during the international observation of "Pinwheels for Peace" on Sept. 21.

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Students at Parsons Elementary School "imagined 'whirled' peace" during a special event Sept. 21.

The international art and literacy project "Pinwheels for Peace," which coincides with the International Day of Peace Sept. 21 and the first meeting of the United Nations, has students "plant" pinwheels with individually designed messages of peace on the front lawn of the school.

On one side, students wrote their thoughts about what peace means to them, why there should be peace, or just a general plea for world peace, according to Kerry Maloney, Parsons art teacher.

On the other side, they visually expressed their feelings, drawing pictures of peace signs, doves, olive branches, hearts, friends, etc. The pictures were supposed to coincide with their message, or be colorful and stand out among the hundreds of other pinwheels, Maloney said.

"The students learned that peace is not easily achieved, that everyone must work together to make the world a better place. We all worked together to make the pinwheels, and we all must work together to acquire world peace. I like that one student noted, 'The pinwheels are moved by wind, and the wind travels all around the world, spreading our message of peace,'" she said.

Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by art teachers Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan of Coconut Creek, Fla., 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 approximately 500,000 pinwheels on Sept. 21. Last year, over 2.3 million pinwheels were spinning in over 3,000 locations, including the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, Africa and South America.

The project is nonpolitical, as peace does not necessarily have to be associated with the conflict of war but instead branch out to any type of violence or intolerance.

"The significance of having this at the beginning of the school year is to help each child realize that they are a part of something here at Parsons. When all of us work together, we can achieve something great. This project taught the students that they make a difference in both the world and the atmosphere of the school," Maloney said.

For more information, visit www.pinwheelsforpeace. com. Contact Jennifer Amato at

jamato@gmnews.com.