The Future Peacemakers!
We are now
Why the name change? When we originally adopted the name Peaceful Schools five years ago, it was already trademarked by a school in New York. We knew that if the program would continue to grow, a new name would be required.
Our new Name “Epic Ethics for Peaceful Schools” is based on well though-out considerations.
- The traditional definition of epic is “relating to deeds of legendary or historical heroes” while in current vernacular it means “extremely awesome”. Both of these definitions correlate with “Four Awesome Questions”, the program’s ethical decision-making framework, which are “epic”, i.e. reflective of deeds of heroes, stating a general truth or piece of advice, and awesome.
- The word “epic” is derived from the Greek “epos” which means word, story, or proverb which is how the program is taught, i.e. through words and stories.
- The two words “epic ethics” each begin with the letter “e” – an alliteration in which the same sound appears at the beginning of two consecutive words, helping to focus children’s attention.
- The two words rhyme, again setting a rhythm and mood for children.
We’re Expanding our Footprint:
We attended the Rotary Peace Conference in CA and received an enthusiastic response by fellow Rotarians. We now have programs in Oregon, Texas and are expanding to Arizona and San Diego California as well as Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. This is a perfect program to partner with an international club. We want to help your club succeed!
How can your CLUB get involved?
We received a grant from the Daniels Fund allowing us to expand and update our lessons plans for grades K-6. We now have 5 lessons per grade: Expressing Feelings, Building Community, Celebrating Diversity, Resolving Conflicts and our newest lesson Strength through Peace. Our teacher-reviewed curriculum can be implemented at no cost for clubs in Colorado AND we have incorporated a variety of resources to allow instruction without the expense of books.
After meeting with many schools in the greater Denver area, their #1 request is to find opportunities for their students to participate in community building. Epic Ethics for Peaceful Schools does just that. Through Rotary, we connect with schools and share our leadership values as well as our time, wisdom and strength.
We are looking for enthusiastic Rotarians who enjoy connecting with youth and our local schools. We would love to come to your club and share our easy-to-implement program that empowers youth, strengthens relationships and brings much needed conversation to our schools.
We will be featured in a 15 second radio spot later this month on NPR. Another opportunity to share the great work of District 5450.
Please contact:
Cher Cruz
(720)226-6651