WHAT IS PEACE HIVE?
Peace Hive is a free student-led wellbeing and kindness initiative designed to help children practise empathy, inclusion, kindness, community and equality in their daily school lives. It integrates into existing pastoral care and wellbeing structures with minimal preparation.
Core Values: P.E.A.C.E.
- Peace: Creating calm, respectful environments
- Empathy: Understanding and caring for others’ feeling
- Acceptance: Welcoming all students and differences
- Community: Building connection and belonging
- Equality: Treating everyone fairly and with respect
WHY PEACE HIVE?
Peace Hive is inspired by authentic youth leadership and celebrates everyday kindness as a trait that belongs everywhere in life. Our school toolkit brings these values into daily classroom moments, the school playground and beyond.
It grew from 11-year-old Valentine Meyerson's heartfelt response to the Bondi terror attack on December 14th, 2025. Deeply saddened that a beautiful 10-year-old child, Matilda Bee Britvan, could get caught up in such hate, and after losing close family friends in the tragedy, Valentine felt compelled to respond with peace and kindness.
Her belief? 'Peace doesn't begin with adults. It begins with us (children).'
When children learn and practise peace values like kindness and empathy at home and school, they grow into compassionate adults, and the world becomes a kinder place for everyone.
Valentine began handmaking beaded, bee-themed Matilda Bee Bracelets, with every dollar raised going directly to Matilda's family. In just six weeks, Valentine raised over $35,000 and sent thousands of bracelets across Australia, the US, UK, Canada, France, Israel and Spain, to fund a magical Disney trip for Matilda's parents and surviving little sister, Summer.
What started as one girl's heartfelt act of remembrance has evolved into Peace Hive, a free student-led wellbeing and kindness toolkit for schools, now co-led by Valentine alongside her older brother, Harry Meyerson. Peace Hive and the Matilda Bee Bracelet Project has been recognised by national media (Sky News, 2GB, Triple M, Daily Telegraph, Sunrise), radio hosts Mark Levy and Ben Fordham, musician Ben Lee, Former Senator Hollie Hughes, MP Kellie Sloane, and Mayors Sarah Dixson (Woollahra Council) and Jesse Fitzpatrick (Wingecarribee Shire).
The Peace Hive initiative supports schools in meeting key wellbeing and curriculum-aligned outcomes:
- PDHPE: Emotional literacy, social skills, positive relationships
- Australian Curriculum: Personal and Social Capability (self-awareness, social awareness, ethical understanding)
By embedding P.E.A.C.E. values into daily school life, Peace Hive helps students build resilience, empathy, kindness and belonging, essential skills for becoming compassionate people that last a lifetime.
Student outcomes:
- Develop empathy and emotional literacy, learning to recognise and express feelings in themselves and others
- Demonstrate inclusion and respect, practising positive peer interactions across diverse groups.
- Strengthen social capability, building resilience, teamwork and compassion in daily school life.
- Translate values into action, leading and participating in acts of peace and kindness that benefit peers and the wider community
- Foster belonging and care, helping build a sense of unity, safety and collective responsibility.
- Reflect on behaviour and growth, considering how words and actions influence others and shape personal wellbeing goals.
Peace Hive is non-political, non-religious and inclusive of all students. It is intentionally free, practical and easy to implement, with no fundraising, no reporting and minimal preparation required. Schools can adapt it flexibly to suit their culture and capacity.
We are currently inviting a select group of schools to express their interest in joining the Peace Hive pilot program. We would be honoured to include your school and share the draft toolkit that is currently in development, or to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for the vital role you play in building safe, inclusive and compassionate school communities.
