Peace Day was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 and is celebrated in numerous schools worldwide. Peace Day’s mission is to build bridges of connection and understanding with people throughout life. It’s Conifer High’s eighth year participating in Peace Day. This year Conifer Senior High School will hold Peace Day on February 2.
“Peace Day is a community-organized event that peer counselors set up with the help of student government. We recruited a bunch of speakers from around the Denver area to speak on different topics and social injustices,” said senior Peer Counselor, Shane Manzer. “We made it so no matter what you will get something positive out of it.”
Though this is Conifer High’s eighth year offering the event to students, this is the first year that attending the event will be mandatory. In past years, Peace Day has been an optional event that most students used as a “skip day”. This year, principal Greg Manier changed the attendance to be mandatory to get more people involved. He also posted a newsletter on the Conifer High School website on December 6 to inform students and their families of the event.
“I have intentionally prioritized this day to allow participation by our entire student body. We have built the content to include representation from all walks of life and backgrounds. To ensure the success of this event, it is imperative that your student attend school on Peace Day. We look forward to a successful and enriching Peace Day, providing our students with valuable insights into our world,” Principal Manier said in the newsletter.
This is the first day Conifer High School changed the event to be called Peace Day. In the past Peace Day has been called Diversity Day which offered similar opportunities and events.
“At first it used to be Diversity Day, but I think a lot of students had a negative connotation with that, so we decided to kind of rebrand it this year to be more organized and positive with the student body,” said senior peer counselor, Charlie Mulvihill.
Conifer High School’s counselors Kim Spease and Melanie Lewis as well as peer counselors and student government work together to organize Peace Day and make sure classmates sign up. Peer counselors will go around during lunch asking who hasn’t signed up. Peer counselors will also call down students to the counseling office to ask them to sign up.
“Right now we’re at about 620 students signed up. I think our goal is to get about 200 more. So I would say we still have like a fourth or a little less that haven’t signed up yet,” said Mulvihill.
The peer counselors have held multiple meetings to plan Peace Day. Peer counselors are also in charge of getting students to sign up for speakers and food trucks.
“Usually we’d have half the school would show up to it. But this time, we’re doing something different where the entire school is gonna participate. So it’s gonna be on a lot larger scale,” said senior peer counselor, Max Bogdanoff.
Along with the speakers and day off, Peace Day also offers other events. For lunch, the student body has food trucks from local Conifer businesses. The food trucks were another new addition this year to “rebrand” the event. They also have added bouncy houses and additional time to socialize with friends.
“There really is no negative thing about going to Peace Day. The only negative thing is the workload for the people setting up. But we have that covered,” said Mulvihill.
The speakers at Peace Day include 35 opportunities to learn more about the world through other people’s experiences. Students get to choose three speakers of their choosing to listen to, ensuring everyone can find someone they can learn or grow from.
“We tried to keep some of the speakers consistent through the years, like the ones that we really like and that like speaking and it’s like a big like, it’s kind of like, a topic that everyone would like enjoy hearing about. But the rest of them we tried to like change up,” said Manzer.
At Peace Day, workshops include but are not limited to; Vietnam War Vet, Human Trafficking, Healthy Masculinity, Positive Body Image, and Speakers from Africa.
“I love how positive Peace Day is. It is a day where everyone belongs,” said Bogdanoff.
Chuck, the Vietnam War Vet, who is also a substitute at Conifer, talks about his experience and also brings photos and war memorabilia. The Positive Body Image will discuss topics such as warning signs, awareness, and body neutrality, and can be an essential outlet for individuals who are struggling with disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders. Having students attend the seminars is meant to introduce them to the world outside of Conifer, learn about history, and hear other’s stories.
“I believe that exposing students to a diverse range of topics is crucial in helping them discover their interests and passions. By participating in Peace Day, your child will not only expand their knowledge but also develop a broader perspective on the possibilities that lie ahead,” Manier said in the newsletter.
