Dozens of yellow smiley faces covered a wall full of bright colors and balloons at Rio Vista Elementary School Tuesday.
The “Happiness Wall” encouraged students and staff members to write down what they were grateful for or what brought them happiness as part of the elementary school’s celebration of the International Day of Happiness.
“They are writing little letters saying what they are happy for,” PTA President Mullaney Phelps said. “We’re trying to make it an annual thing because we should have a day dedicated to being happy and grateful. There are so many things going on so it’s nice to take time to remember what we’re grateful for.”
Handwritten messages from students included thankful notes about everything from dogs and hamsters to family, friends and food.
The school decided to bring the Happiness Wall to its campus after two parents and Live Happy Ambassadors Jeff and Tammy Golf, who put up a similar Happiness Wall at the Westfield Valencia Town Center last year.
“Two of our parents asked if we’d be willing to put a wall at our school,” Rio Vista Principal Gina Nolte said. “It was a labor of love from everyone to put up the wall. The campus supervisors cut out the smiles and the office staff created the hashtag posts.”
In July 2012, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 20 International Day of Happiness in order to recognize the “relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.”
Today, the International Day of Happiness aims to improve the well-being of all people by celebrating generosity of spirit and instilling positive character traits like kindness, compassion and perseverance.
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