Crane - making activity to commemorate Sadako Sasaki

The Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Day was observed at GIIS Noida with its message of "Peace" to mark the tragedy of the fatal bombing in 1945. A special peace assembly was organised by the students of Grade 3.

A beautiful thought on Peace Day was followed with a glance on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki disaster. A moment of silence was observed to pay homage to all the victims.

Ms. Punam Singhal, Principal,
participating with students

A role-play was enacted by a student on a little girl named Sadako Sasaki, a survivor of the bombing. Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl who was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped near her home at Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. The radiation from the bomb subsequently gave her leukaemia when she was ten. Sadako believed in an old Japanese story that if you made 1,000 paper cranes, you would be granted a wish. She decided to fold 1,000 cranes and wished for good health. She died before she could complete the task that she set upon herself. Later it was her school friends who finished making them for her. She said: "I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world." This tradition was carried forward by our students in the crane making activity. The cranes and her message was a good way to remember that we must never give up on peace. Sadako is remembered to this day as an innocent victim of war and violence.

Pre-primary students demonstrating
for world peace

Different symbols of Peace were depicted by students such as the Semaphore Signals of N & D, Dove with an olive leaf, Victory Sign, Mistletoe and Broken Rifle.

The Chief Guest of the day, Mr. Anil Joshi who worked as a Consultant in Japan for 9 years addressed the students on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day, as observed in Japan. "Japanese people do not believe in taking a day off in honour of the victims of the bombing. They believe in being happy and not showing their sorrow", said Mr. Joshi.

Ms. Punam Singhal, GIIS Principal, advocated the message of peace by encouraging students to take a pledge and vowing not to fight. White balloons were flown in the air as a symbol of Peace.

It was followed by a special peace song sung by the GIIS choir. The Pre-Primary children took a step forward to spread peace by a silent peace walk displaying various placards such as Peace is Patriotic and Peace begins with a smile. Dove badges were given to the children to take home as a token of peace. Overall, it was a special effort taken by the students to advocate peace and emphasised the need to set up peace initiatives at school-level.