Washington Middle School Celebrates International Day of Happiness

JAMESTOWN – Washington Middle School recently celebrated International Day of Happiness by creating a “Happy Acts Wall” at the school. Every student had the opportunity to write notes for the wall during their English Language Arts classes.
Parent volunteer, Lucy Schultz, started the day at Washington School and the Builders Club helped volunteer that day by posting happy messages throughout the school and passing out “happy acts” bracelets.
In 2012, Jeff Olsen presented his idea in front of the United Nations for an International Day of Happiness and that was when #LiveHappy was born.  On March 20th every year, people create “Happy Acts Walls” across the country and internationally. The goal of the initiative is that by doing a kind deed or offering a kind word, we can share happiness, creating a ripple effect.
“This year at Washington Middle School over 500 students created happy messages for the school wall,” said Schultz. “All the kids contributed kind thoughts and deeds. We talked about it not only being today that we strive to be happy and spread happiness, but every day in our lives. We don’t know what people are going through and can’t always control what happens to us but we can control our own actions and attitudes. The kids did a great job!”
The Washington Middle School Builders Club works with the local chapter of Kiwanis International. The club volunteers in the community and helps to better Washington School.
“The club’s goal for the International Day of Happiness was to get students and teachers to take the positive feeling home with them,” said Washington Middle School teacher and Builders Club Advisor Jennifer Cronin. “It’s easy to get caught up in negativity. Being positive is great for our emotional and physical health. I hope happy acts continue well past the International Day of Happiness!”
Washington Middle School is hoping to be recognized by #LiveHappy as a happy school. They wanted this day to be seen as a positive event and to teach their kids, as they do every day, to be kind to one another and spread happiness. If you are interested in starting your own “Happy Acts Wall,” check out http://www.happyacts.org/ for more information.