Whirled Peace Day

Whirled Peace Day, a Steward tradition since 2007, honors Pinwheels for Peace, a national project for art teachers and their students. Coordinator of Service Learning Alexa Bolt teamed up with Art Teachers Emily Wolfe, Abby Klein, and Kristin Snellings to coordinate this year’s celebration. 

“Whirled Peace Day gives Spartans the opportunity to celebrate peace together,” said Ms. Bolt. “Teachers and students reflected on how we can make our community a better, more tolerant place for everyone.”

In preparation for this annual event, Lower Schoolers created pinwheels (symbols of peace) in their art classes. On September 22, they gathered to “plant” the colorful pinwheels near the Lower School playground. Under sunny skies, our young artists used sidewalk chalk to draw smiling faces, peace symbols, and other happy expressions on the carpool loop as they blew bubbles and proudly showed off their pinwheels.

An especially charming part of this year’s Whirled Peace Day was a get-together with senior students and their JK/K buddies. At the beginning of each school year, junior kindergarten and kindergarten students are paired with a senior student, and throughout the year, they participate in school events together. Our youngest Spartans look up (literally and figuratively) to their senior friends, and all buddies benefit from the friendship and empathy that the Buddy Program encourages. On Whirled Peace Day, the buddies teamed up to spin pinwheels, blow bubbles, and smile (a lot!). 

Each year on Whirled Peace Day, the Steward community collects donations to present to a local organization. For the second consecutive year, the school partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), which provides a haven for families with a child being treated in local medical facilities. In the weeks leading up to Whirled Peace Day, Ms. Bolt met with Middle and Upper Schoolers to talk about RMHC’s mission, and she noted the rewards of learning from and serving our communities. Families in all divisions donated snack items and other supplies to benefit RMHC.  Watch a time-lapse video of the donations that were collected, which were presented to RMHC staff. In all, three carloads of donated items were given to RMHC. Thank you, Spartans!

Collecting much-needed items was “a reminder that even small acts of kindness can help others. It’s a tangible example of how Steward’s core values of care & respect inspire our students and benefit the wider community,” noted Ms. Bolt. “Spartans helping others is an essential part of our school experience. I am so proud of our students.”