International Day of Peace Celebration

On the morning of Friday, September 29, the whole school gathered in the gym to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The International Day of Peace was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981. The day is devoted to strenghtening the ideas of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence. The theme this year was Actions for peace: Our ambition for the #GlobalGoals

Michelle Edwards began the ceremony by welcoming the community into the space and speaking about what the Internation Day of Peace represents. She passed on the microphone to the Primary team who shared the poem: May peace be before you, behind you, above you, below you, from your heart, to your lips, to everyone. Lower Elementary led the school with a rendition of PEACE to the tune of BINGO, Upper Elementary sang Building Bridges, a song written by the women of Greenham Common Peace Occupation in England, 1983. The Middle School shared this message:

"In regards to our decision marking, Oren Lyons, a Senca Faithkeeper from the Onondaga Nation once said, "The Peacemaker taught us about the Seven Generations. He said, when you sit in council for the welfare of the people, you must not think of yourself or of your family, not even of your generation. He said, 'make your decisions on behalf of the seven generations coming, to that they may enjoy what you have today." This is a good reminder to us all on this day of peace."

The ceremony concluded with a few rounds of Light a Candle for Peace before continuing on with our busy Friday at school. We offer you a reminder, that the work for peace is never finished. This assembly has become a Woodland Hill tradition, always finding new ways to share peace with one another.

You can read more about the International Day of Peace here.