The Rev. Amber Sturgess from All Saints' Church commissioned our Middle Schoolers with the design of three Peace Poles to be installed at All Saints' Church in Carmel.
Eighth Grade decided to dedicate their pole to Racial Injustice and collaborated with Sra. Zaldívar, Mrs. Rheim, and Mrs. Raisbeck selecting poems and videos to discuss racial inequality and provide imagery for their peace pole. They chose Maya Angelou’s image of a caged bird from one of her poems, as inspiration to symbolize slavery. On the pole are several birdcages hanging from the branches of an olive tree symbolizing our country and the wise principles it was founded on. Inside the tree is a chain, representing the inequality brought on by slavery and other forms of oppression. To convey a positive message the eighth graders drew hands opening the doors to the bird cages, and freeing the birds.
Seventh Grade created a peace pole honoring the lives that have been lost to the Pandemic and the suffering of humanity all over the world due to the virus. With Reverend Amber, they addressed the two questions Keeping in mind the lives that have been lost due to covid, how might we as humans take better care of each other? What do you long for humanity to become in our relationship to each other and to the world? To send a positive message they used imagery from the Day of the Dead to give this challenging subject a context and a positive and hopeful message. Each student added their hands to the pole choosing symbolic hand positions that represent healing in some way. Running along the peace pole are two golden DNA strands, representing humanity and how we are all in this together.
Sixth graders dedicated their pole to Climate Change after learning about the science of climate change, the effects on our environment, and focusing on possible solutions with Ms. Zayas in their science classes. They visited with Mrs. LaNette Zimmerman, part of the Climate Change Committee in Carmel, who shared how the city of Carmel is dealing with climate change. They added their hands in meaningful positions to show humanity's awareness and willingness to take action and adapt to the reality of climate change.
These detailed, colorful, and meaningful poles are now installed in front of All Saints' Church in Carmel on Dolores Street and we invite you to stop by anytime and take a closer look at these beautiful Peace Poles!