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

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