Students receive new bikes for achieving
reading goals
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Several students at
Ibraham Elementary
School had the opportu
nity of a lifetime last week
when they got the chance
to ride bikes through the
hallway. For their willing
ness to participate in the
Read to Ride Book Chal
lenge, students received
brand new bikes.
From Feb. 1 to May 1,
students participating in
the reading challenge were
required to keep track of
the number of minutes
they spent reading each
day to be eligible for the
drawing to win one of five
different bikes, one for
each grade level. To be en
tered in the drawing for the
bike, students grades K-2
were required to log 100
minutes of reading and
grades 3-5 were required
to log 300 minutes.
Just before the bell
rang for dismissal on
Thursday, May 20, the
“Prize Patrol,” which was
made up of several teach
ers and faculty members,
delivered the bikes to stu
dents while they were in
class. Students were able
to watch the Prize Patrol
travel through the halls
via a live stream that was
Photo by Tevin Stinson
Since February, students at Ibraham Elementary School have been participating in the Read to Ride Book Chal
lenge and last week for participating in the challenge, five students were surprised with brand new bikes.
broadcast to each class-
room.
Assistant Principal
Dr. Dara Hedgecock led
the Prize Patrol and after
winners were announced,
she allowed the students
to take their new bike
for a spin. Winners were
Marceline Privado-Zarate,
Macros Melendez-Guti
errez, Audrey Wade, Mia
Jorge-Ramirez, Sara Mon-
callo-Navas, and Anasta-
cia Lenczewski. Kayla
Isbell’s first-grade class
also received a certificate
for having the most par
ticipants in the challenge.
Every student who logged
their reading minutes and
participated also received
a bag filled with candy and
other items.
As the 2020-21 school
year draws to a close, sev
eral teachers and adminis
trators said it felt good to
do something nice for the
students. Shannon Spen
cer, the Instructional Tech
nology Facilitator (ITF) at
Ibraham, said she was ex
cited just to be a part of the
Prize Patrol.
“I think this is a great
way to celebrate students,
given the year that we’ve
had so far, It’s nice to be
able to do something nice
for the students.”
In Pursuit of Happiness event draws over 20,000 virtual attendees
Conference coincides with National Mental Health Action Day
BY JUDIE HOLCOMB-PACK
THE CHRONICLE
It’s a well-known
phrase in our Declaration
of Independence - our un
alienable right to the pur
suit of happiness. But why
is happiness so elusive for
so many?
The Atlantic, a liter
ary and cultural magazine
founded in 1857, hosted
a day-long virtual confer
ence seeking answers to
this question on Thurs
day, May 20. The agenda
featured interviews and
presentations by over 20
professionals touching on
every aspect of emotional
happiness. The confer
ence was in recognition
of National Mental Health
Awareness Month, which
is May, and Mental Health
Action Day.
When attendees reg
istered to attend this free
event, they were given a
short survey to fill out.
During the conference,
attendees could also ask
questions or submit what
personally made them
happy. The happiness sug
gestions were incorporat
ed into a graphic print cre
ated by visual storyteller
and artist Azelle Vanquil-
lie during the course of the
day. The Dalai Lama also
popped in at various times
giving advice on how to
achieve happiness and
peace through mindful
ness. Also on the agenda
were Rev. T.D. Jakes,
Deepak Chopra, and U.S.
Surgeon General Vice Ad
miral Vivek Murthy.
Among the most in
sightful presentations was
one by Arthur Brooks, a
behavioral social scientist,
speaker and writer whose
columns appear regularly
in The Atlantic. He also
Photo from athurbrooks.com
Arthur Brooks was one of the keynote speakers at the In Pursuit of Happiness
conference.
offered happiness exercis
es during the conference.
But first, we must ask
ourselves the question:
What is happiness? There
were several definitions
presented, but Brooks ex
plained happiness as being
part enjoyment, satisfac
tion, and having a purpose
in life. He urged attendees
to consider these areas of
their lives to see if their
lives are balanced or is
there an unbalance in a
particular area.
Brooks noted that in
stead of focusing on the
“pursuit” of happiness as
something that can be at
tained, to look more as
happiness being a journey
with no ending.
Some people believe
that having wealth, power
and fame will bring hap
piness, but studies have
proven this not to be true.
One study found that
people who earn between
$75,000 and $100,000 in
income were among the
most satisfied and happy
of all survey respondents.
Interestingly, additional
increases in income be
yond that point did not
bring a similar increase in
their level of happiness - in
other words, proving the
old adage, “Money can’t
buy happiness.”
The pandemic has
given us a time to reassess
our lives and to determine
what parts of our lives do
we need to “beef up” to
bring more balance and
thus more experiences of
happiness. Brooks men
tioned a life satisfaction
study that Harvard Uni
versity has been conduct
ing among its students
and graduates for over 80
years. Taking into consid
eration health issues and
financial security, for the
oldest participants, now
in their 80s, it found that
those with close, personal,
loving relationships were
the happiest.
The conference and
its presenters offered a
lot of insight into mental
health and happiness and
what we can do to stay
mentally healthy and sat
isfied with our lives. Most
of us already know what
we should do: eat healthy
foods, exercise, spend
some time in quiet medi
tation or prayer, and open
our hearts to the love of
family and friends. It’s up
to each of us to determine
how we proceed on our
journey to happiness.
This was the inaugu
ral conference presented
by The Atlantic and the In
Pursuit of Happiness ses
sions can be found on their
YouTube channel.
www.wschronicle.com