Committed to Radiant Peace

For Entries postmarked by April 5, 2004

For Entries postmarked by December 15, 2003

For entries postmarked by April 5, 2004

National Winners

I can make a more peaceful world. I can plant flowers that grow very high. I can make fresh apple pie. I can laugh, sing, and pray. I can be a kid in every way.

Taylor Michael, First Grade, Age 6
Walden Lake Elementary School, Plant City, Florida
Teacher: Mrs. Battaglia

I can make the world a more peaceful place by being a helpful person. I can travel around the world and ask if they will be helpful too. I will get on a stage and make a big speech. I will say we can make the world a better place.

Senna Marchant, First Grade, Age 7
Vance Elementary School, Vance, Alabama
Teacher: Mrs. Malone

I am a peaceful person when I help someone get up when they fall. I comfort them so they will get better.

I am a peaceful person when I forgive someone if he or she hurts me by saying mean things.

I am a peaceful person when I show love by hugging my Mom and my Dad. Hugs always make people feel better. I try and do the right thing so that everyone is treated fairly. People feel happy when they know someone cares about them.

I am a peaceful person when I try to stop friends from fighting. I see if I can help them solve problems. I try to be nice to everyone.

I am a peaceful person when I tell the truth. When I lie it makes more problems. I share my toys and things with my brother. When we share we have lots of fun.

Adrian DeSilva, Fourth Grade, age 10
All Saints Catholic School, Sunrise, Florida
Teacher: Mrs. Vinnie Latcham

I am a peaceful person when I ...

Show love for someone. When I care for maybe just one person I feel peace inside my heart. I don’t care if that somebody that I cared for isn’t going to tell everyone what I did; I do it because I know it’s the right thing to do.

Everything that can make you a peaceful person doesn’t have to be top story news. It can be something small and simple such as helping others. Doing something so small and so simple in your eyes may be something great and large in someone else’s.

Brittany Kelly, Fifth Grade, age 10
Florida College Academy, Temple Terrace, Florida
Teacher: Mrs. Dickens

I am a peaceful person when I help the less fortunate of my community. I donate my time, food, and other items that may help better their lives. I pray that they will one day have a loving and supportive family and friends as I have.

I am a peaceful person when I help others work through difficult situations in their lives. I yearn to make a difference in someone’s life by being sympathetic and loving. Peace starts with everyone accepting, helping, and respecting themselves and others.

By creating peace within ourselves, we are spreading it. Once we begin respecting ourselves and accepting our faults, peace flourishes. When you achieve peace in your life, peace conquers.

Kristen Clark, Eight Grade, Age 14
All Saints Catholic School, Sunrise, Florida
Teacher: Mrs. C. Karrat

For entries postmarked by December 15, 2003

Kindergarten through Third Grades

Theme: How I Make a More Peaceful World

National First Place

I can make the world more peaceful if I can believe inside that I can do it. Showing love to others and caring for them are two ways to make the world more peaceful. Also being kind and helping others is peaceful. Peacefulness is the key to being happy.

Jay Lemmonds, Second Grade, Age 7
Mamie Agnes Jones Elementary School, Baldwin, Florida
Teacher: Ms. R. Hamm

I make the world a better place when I help others. I make the world a peaceful and careful place when I pray for others, when I be kind to others, and when I help others. I make the world a lot better when I help others up when they are down. Also when I give my money to the poor. The world is peaceful with me because I will let no one down. The world needs me, and I’m there to help. I put a lot of frowns upside down.

Nicholas Dvorak, Third Grade, Age 8
Our Lady of Hope/St. Luke School, Baltimore, Maryland
Teacher: Mrs. Morosko

I can make a more peaceful world by sharing peace to everyone or help everyone find a very best friend. I can make the world a better place by being a good example to people by not hitting, disrespecting, not fighting and being peaceful. I can make a difference.

Justin Fish, Third Grade, Age 8
Mamie Agnes Jones Elementary School, Baldwin, Florida
Teacher: Ms K. Schmidt

Fourth Grade through Eighth Grade

National First Place

I am a peaceful person when I am with my family and friends. We share, laugh, and have fun together. We help reach out and take care of each other. If everyone was like that and did that for everyone we would live in a very peaceful world. We need to treat everyone equally.

Katelyn Dynneson, Sixth Grade, Age 12
Brorson School, Sidney, Montana
Teacher: Mrs. Fox

Being a peaceful person is very important to me. When I am at my lake sitting on my dock by myself, it is a time to think and de-stress my mind. When I feel overwhelmed with school work or even my mom, it’s somewhere I can go to look around and breathe.

The reason I find myself so peaceful when I’m on the lake is because the scenery is so breathtaking. With the calm water, quiet surroundings, and huge trees, it’s hard not to be peaceful. With the surroundings on my dock, you almost feel as though you have to whisper, so you don’t disturb things as they are. When I’m there alone, it’s nice because I don’t have to worry about anything. This is why being on my lake makes me a peaceful person.

Alexa Williamson, Eighth Grade, Age 13
Terrace Community School, Tampa, Florida
Teacher: Winnie Wilson Sunquist

I am a peaceful person when I’m with my Mom or Dad. I feel peaceful when I hug my Mom or Dad and they hug me back. I feel at peace when I’m with them because I know that nobody is going to hurt me because they would never allow anything bad to happen to me. It makes me feel warm and safe. When I sit with them watching movies or television I feel calm and completely at peace. When I was small I used to wake up at night because I had a bad dream or was afraid of the dark, I would climb into bed with my parents and I wasn’t afraid anymore. Now I’m in fifth grade, sometimes when things get crazy or I’m upset, getting a hug from my Mom will always make me feel better. My parents help me to be a peaceful person.

Matthew McNabb, Fifth Grade, Age 10
Christ Lutheran School, Cape Coral, Florida
Teacher: Belinda West