Students at Holliston School are sharing their belief in peace with their neighbourhood.
In response to the war in Ukraine, students in LeeAnne Benjamin's Grade 5 class have been working on projects to show they stand tall for peace. Ideas were co-generated by the class and many projects included sunflowers, as sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine and a symbol of peace.
The class created a sunflower mural, learned and performed a song in sign language about world peace, and distributed around 450 "Seeds for Peace" letters. These letters were handed out in the community and contained sunflower seeds and a request for people to grow sunflowers as a symbol of peace and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Students went door-to-door on April 7 to hand out the letters. They spoke with neighbourhood residents about the project and performed their song for peace.
"The students passionately engaged with these projects and were empowered that they could be agents of change and peace." Benjamin said. "Many community members were touched by the students' actions. We are thankful for the people who said they will join with us and plant sunflowers this summer."
Neighbourhood residents welcomed the visit, and the way students shared their message of peace and community.
"The young man who explained what your project was about did an excellent job. The song that was sung was very moving and brought tears to my eyes," one neighbour wrote in a message to the class.
"One day as an adult you will all make a difference in this world. But right now, you are making a difference and impacting on others like myself who were fortunate to have a visit from you. Thank you for the sunflower seeds that we will plant this spring and for the note and beautifully decorated envelope."
The class is encouraging others to join them in standing tall for peace by planting sunflowers this summer. To help at the local level, the class suggests supporting the Saskatoon Open Door Society in its efforts to assist Ukrainian refugees who are arriving in Saskatoon.
