On Friday, November 16th all students at St. Francis School participated in a Peace Tree activity. This activity was the culmination of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, and focused on Mahatma Ghandi’s message “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. After reading the book “The Tree” by Dana Lyons, classes talked about respect for the environment and how disruptive disrespect can be to the peace of a forest or wetland. They then made connections between this story and how disrespect disrupts peace in our school. Symbols of different cultures and faiths from around the world were provided to every class and students turned these symbols into ornaments for a Peace Tree, situated in the lobby of the school. The tree is now covered with ornaments, many of which also have messages about how they will promote peace in their school, home, local community and the world.