The James Logan Courier

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Students at James Logan High School will join people throughout the world Tuesday in celebrating International Day of Peace.

International Day of Peace, as designated by the United Nations, is an annual observance of global ceasefire and non-violence, celebrated each Sept. 21. It is promoted by the organization Peace One Day (www.peaceoneday.org).

At Logan, students have been making signs, painting a mural and decorating t-shirts to promote the effort and signing “affirmation cards” outlining what they are willing to do to further peace. As part of their activities Tuesday, students will gather on the football field and organize themselves into “peace messages” during the school’s two lunch periods, from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The events are being organized by students, with the help of teacher Stephanie Papas.

In 2007, Logan students and staff members – wearing t-shirts that they had decorated with peace symbols and messages – spelled out the word “PEACE” during the first lunch and formed a human peace sign during the second lunch. They attracted the attention of both a newspaper photographer and a news helicopter from a Bay Area television station.

In 2009, millions of people were active on International Day of Peace, in all 192 UN member states, according to Peace One Day. In Afghanistan, Peace One Day spearheaded a campaign that during a three-year period from 2007 to 2009 resulted in more than 4 million children receiving polio immunizations.

Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley’s goal is to have more than 3 billion people participating in International Day of Peace by 2012.