News

Peace takes flight with 18,000 paper cranes

By Hailey Wight

Jul 14, 2026

Foundation students Lucas Damianopoulos, Hazel Sherin and Jemma Scott pose with just some of the paper cranes made last term. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

What began as a challenge to fold 5000 paper cranes has become a school-wide movement, with students and staff at All Saints Anglican School Shepparton creating more than 18,000 cranes last term.

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Head of Anglican identity Bill Boyer said they were inspired by the story of Japanese schoolgirl Sadako Sasaki after noticing many students were thinking about the conflicts happening around the world.

Sadako died from radiation exposure 10 years after the Hiroshima bombing in 1945. While she was sick, she folded 1000 paper cranes in the hope she would be granted a wish.

Instead of wishing to recover, the 12-year-old wished for peace.

“That really hit a chord with the kids,” Mr Boyer said.

With about 450 students at the school, Mr Boyer expected the goal to make 5000 cranes would take the full 10-week term.

“Instead, we did that within two weeks,” he said.

Foundation student Hazel Sherin surrounded by hundreds of paper cranes made by the school’s students and staff. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Mr Boyer said every corner of the school became involved.

“At lunchtime outside my office, there were just a multitude of children of different ages sitting making cranes,” he said.

“I don’t think there was a kid at school that didn’t make a crane.

“I’m just so proud everyone has come together. It has just been so powerful.”

The project gathered even more momentum after students learned of a local record of about 16,000 paper cranes, featured in the News.

“It just ignited the whole school,” Mr Boyer said.

“It was crane fever for weeks and weeks on end.”

However, he said the project was about far more than origami.

“It opened up conversation about what peace is,” he said.

Year 9 student Olivia White and Year 2 student Esther Soly making paper cranes together. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Principal Jim Laussen said the theme had been an opportunity to bring students from different cultures together.

“Even though our chapels are Christian-based, we’ve had Sikh, Muslim and Hindu children stand up in chapel and share why peace is important in their faith,” he said.

“We hope that all our students take away with them a really strong understanding and acceptance of different faiths.

“It's been a lovely community building project as much as anything else.”

Although Mr Laussen admitted his own origami skills left something to be desired, he said he was proud of the way students and staff had embraced the project.

Year 9 student Olivia White said she had loved making paper cranes with her friends at lunch and in class.

“It has taught me a lot about respect and faith,” she said.

Thousands of colourful paper cranes will soon hang from the ceiling as a lasting reminder of the term-long project.

The school will celebrate the achievement with a special chapel service on Thursday, July 16, with local religious leaders from a range of faiths invited to attend to reflect on the message of peace and unity.