School celebrates World Peace Day

“Students collected over 12,000 written messages from the young and the old across the Emirate. Something that we have come to realise from the messages is that most people aspire for peace in their homes, schools, and offices before spreading the message out to the rest of the world,” said 12^th grader and school head girl Prateeksha Kamath. Peace Day is celebrated the world over on September 21.

“As students, we have come to realise that we live in a very privileged and safe environment as compared to our peers in other parts of the world.”

The school also organised banner-painting competitions, message writing, and other creative activities. The celebrations came to an end with a human chain formation.

Students formed the word peace, the symbol, and the shape of a dove to mark the beginning of the activities.

Eleventh graders Vrunda Atul Shah, Amal Shiyas, Ann Mary Shibu, Disha Manoj, Maheen Athar, and others said as part of the cross-cultural interaction, they speak to students in countries like the Philippines via video conferencing. “We learn a lot from students abroad. The purpose of these events is to know more about different cultures,” said Shiyas. The girls think that cultural confusion is what causes strife.

Our Own English High School Sharjah has a strength of about 7,800 students and is part of the GEMS group of schools.

“As part of the GEMS innovation framework, we are looking to build a forward looking school. The peace day activities are part of this aim,” said Principal Aninda Chatterji.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com