About 500 students, teachers and staff members gathered on the lawn of J. Nelson Kelly Elementary School on Tuesday in Grand Forks to form a peace symbol to visually represent this year's theme for character education: "Peace Begins With Me."
They all wore tie-dyed T-shirts-each color signifying a specific grade-as they stood in a 50-foot-diameter circle to replicate the iconic '60s symbol.
The scene was caught on camera by photographer, Alesha Hansen, and a drone buzzing overhead like a large mechanical mosquito.
"We took something positive from the '60s," said Principal Mike LaMoine.
The group photo is "a way of supporting our accepted culture," he said. Character education is not a separate aspect of learning at Kelly, but rather "it has become ingrained-it's what we do every day."
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Ginny Blake, school counselor, said the theme was selected to kicked off Kelly's 50th anniversary last fall and to put "a spotlight on behavior and character, and showing that through our actions."
