The South Shore News & Tribune
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Students' Pinwheels Spin For Peace
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Published: October 1, 2008
APOLLO BEACH - When art teacher Margit Redlawsk transferred from Summerfield Elementary School to Apollo Beach Elementary this year, she brought a gift to give her new students.
The gift was a simple art project called Pinwheels for Peace, which introduces children to the concepts of peace, harmony and tolerance.
"This was the first time for Pinwheels for Peace at Apollo Beach Elementary," she said. "I'm really happy with how well the students and staff here accepted it.
"I also had outstanding parental support. They donated all 600 pencils and thumbtacks."
The three-week project began by having the children draw and color a symmetrical design on one side of a small paper square, and then write words describing their feelings about peace on the flip side.
Once that was accomplished, Redlawsk showed students how to fold their squares into a pinwheel - a childhood symbol of simplicity, joy and peace - and affix them with a tack to a sharpened pencil.
On Sept. 22, the day after the International Day of Peace, students and their teachers planted the pinwheels at Dickman Road and Apollo Beach Boulevard. By noon, almost 600 pinwheels were spinning in the breeze.
"This project teaches students the importance of getting along with their classmates and learning to tolerate differences in others," Redlawsk said. "They learn they don't need to be best friends but they do need to accept and understand each other."
Redlawsk said the project has a positive impact on character growth, which is a major goal for teachers at the school.
"Learning to be a good person and citizen is just as important as learning academics," she said.
Pinwheels for Peace was started in 2005 by art teachers Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan of Monarch High School in Coconut Creek. Since then, the project has spread worldwide.
Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com.
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