Last week, a group of seventh graders installed a peace pole in the Old Rochester Regional Junior High's courtyard.

The purpose of the pole, said teacher Nancy Juvinall, is "to represent the idea of global peace."

She and fellow teacher Margaret Benson came up with the idea and got approval to put it in the courtyard. The teachers hope the peace pole will contribute to a quite atmosphere where members of the school community can sit.

Juvinall said there are similar poles in 180 countries.

On one side the pole reads "May peace prevail on Earth," a sentiment that also appears in Chinese, Arabic and Spanish.

A group of seventh grade students worked on securing and landscaping the small plot around it.

On Friday, the seventh graders gathered around the pole for a brief ceremony and moment of silence.

Claire Barry explained the purpose of the pole and Isabella LaPointe read a poem about peace.

Both girls helped with the pole during the week.

"I really think the message is the most important part," Barry said.

LaPointe said, "I think it's a really good representation of our school because it has all these different languages."