To mark the International Day of Peace on September 21, students at Sackett Educational Center broke ground on a peace pole and garden space at the school. The project is a collaboration between Joal Bova’s Social Studies class and Marni Tessier’s art class. The International Day of Peace began in 1981 with a unanimous UN resolution as a globally shared date for humanity to commit to peace and building a culture of peace.
A Peace Pole is a monument to peace, often containing the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” or something similar, sometimes in several languages. Sackett Art classes will design a Peace Pole as the focal point of the new space. The ceremony Friday included statements and poems about gardens and the importance of peace.
“Gardens can provide us a peaceful place to reflect on life. Time for reflection is not always easy to find in our fast paced and noisy world, so gardens provide us a respite in difficult and anxious times,” said Bova.
“Today there are over 200,000 peace poles in 180 countries around the world. These poles remind us not only of the universal desire for peace, but also the fact that we must become agents of peace and goodwill,” said sophomore Slade Watkins.
Curtis Lumber, which has accepted Sackett students for the past two years as CDOS interns, donated materials for the art classes to use to design and create the peace pole and start the garden project. Using a compass as a basis of the design, the project will include four peace poles – one at each direction to symbolize peace throughout the world.
The Peace Pole is scheduled to be completed later this fall and be in place before winter. Students will begin adding garden space in the spring.
“This peace pole will become the center of our new garden space. Today begins a process that will continue throughout the year and years to come,” said Watkins.
