“Create war not peace. Joy comes in the morning. Peace is good.”

At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the peer counselors are always keeping busy. In honor of peace week, students involved in the peer counseling class chalked the outdoor hallway floors with peace quotes and handed out “peace cards” with kind words to students on campus.

Laura Rountree, the peer counseling teacher, loves getting involved with these kinds of positive activities mentioned previously. She enjoys spreading kindness and creating smiles.

“Sidewalk chalk is a tradition done during peace week to spread positivity, kindness and love,” Rountree said. “Seeing the artwork and reading the positive quotes about love, kindness and peace will hopefully bring smiles to faces and just spread a little kindness, peace and love and encourage everyone to be a little more kind to others which also helps bring peace.”

Chalk is used to capture the attention of staff and students. When students walk out of class and see sentimental words about kindness, happiness, and joy, their mood can be lifted.

“While I was writing peace quotes with chalk, I was aiming towards letting everyone know that peace week should be celebrated everyday,” junior John Nance said. “School is a very stressful place sometimes, but some chalk and bright colors could really change someone’s day.”

Peace cards have a small message to motivate someone. When a student receives a card, their job is to pass it on to someone else. These cards are meant to uplift peers.

“The kindness cards contain a variety of acts of kindness written on them that are to be done. When the act of kindness is done, the card is passed on. We are asking the recipient to keep the kindness flowing,” Rountree said. “We are encouraging the person that receives the act of kindness and card to continue it flowing down the line to others. Now they will do an act of kindness and pass the card on to someone else and it keeps going and going and going.”

The peer counseling program hopes to spread the message that kindness and good deeds takes very little time and effort.

“When I received a card in the hallways I was caught off guard but when I read it, the kind words of “Forgive someone today” meant a lot to me because I had gotten in an argument with someone and that really motivated me,” senior Katie Spallina said.

These kind, yet simple acts have the ability to completely turn a student’s day around. The peer counseling program is always keeping up with acts of kindness and will continue to honor the tradition moving forward.