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Libertyville pupils plant pinwheels for peace
Twelve-year-old Lexi Stavrakos plants one of the pinwheels during Friday's "Pinwheels for Peace" event at Highland Middle School in Libertyville. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: October 21, 2012 3:21PM
LIBERTYVILLE — Pupils at Highland Middle School in Libertyville District 70 planted about 1,000 pinwheels on the school’s front lawn Friday, Sept. 21, as part of the national Pinwheels for Peace project.
It marked the second year that Highland participated in the initiative, which was launched in 2005 to give students a means to express their feelings about war and peace.
“Everyday, we are bombarded with television images, video games, music, and magazine and newspaper articles that give importance to conflict and war,” said Highland art teacher Megan Russell. “Violence has become commonplace and accepted as part of our society and, for some, it is a way of life.
“It is our hope that through the Pinwheels for Peace project, we can make a public visual statement about our feelings about war, peace, tolerance, cooperation, harmony and unity,” Russell continues. “In some way, maybe, we can awaken the public and let them know what we are thinking.”
The project was started by two art teachers at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Fla., and since has been embraced by millions of teachers, parents, children and adults. Last year, about 3.5 million pinwheels were planted.
