By Andonia Goergen
Executive News Editor
Pennekamp Elementary School in Manhattan Beach partnered with Emerson Elementary School in Compton on Sept. 21 to virtually celebrate the United Nation’s International Day of Peace with a live program to encourage peace and unity within the school districts.
The Manhattan Beach-based, non-profit organization Stand 4 Peace organized the 30-minute event that students participated in via Zoom. The program followed the theme of “Shaping Peace Together,” which was the main theme of the worldwide event. The two schools, however, focused more specifically on the theme of “Unification Through Education.”
“By meeting the students at Emerson, we want the children to recognize that they are a lot more alike than they are different,” Pennekamp first grade teacher and and co-founder of Stand 4 Peace Donna Nicholson said.
Students from both schools shared their thoughts on what peace means to them. Nicholson helped students define their own peace plan by providing a four-step plan on how to become a good peace-maker. Among the steps were to breathe slowly, listen carefully, share openly and resolve conflicts in a respectful way.
“We are trying to expose the children to a culture of peace and tolerance in the family, in their school, in our community and ultimately in society at large,” Nicholson said.
Principals at both schools presented a Peace Pole to viewers, which symbolized hope and displayed the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” Organizers encouraged participants to decorate and plant their own poles with messages to promote peace and unity within the community.
“Hopefully [students’] take-away from Sept. 21 included peace education and awareness for the celebration of the United Nations International Peace Day,” Nicholson said. “I also hope that they might remember the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal number 16: ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.’”
To finish the event, U.N. representative Erin Toppenberg led participants in a global “peace wave” where they took a peace pledge and a moment of solidarity. To continue in their efforts of maintaining peace within the community, Pennekamp and Emerson will be participating in the Peace Pal program, where students from the two schools can continue to connect with one another and achieve unity.
“Peace Pals will begin as a digital pen pal letter writing program between the two schools,” Nicholson said. “We also plan to have shared, grade-level specific Zoom classes between Emerson and Pennekamp. Stand 4 Peace is looking forward to blossoming the relationships we made over Zoom into in-person relationships when COVID concerns are lifted.”
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