More than 100 students took to the streets of Sechelt to sprinkle some happiness on May 21 with positive signs, notes and a flash mob dance that brought smiles to all who saw it.
Grades 4 to 7 students at West Sechelt Elementary School have been preparing for the effort for over a month, diligently practising moves to their public dance and making their own signs and notes of positivity.
The signs said things like “tell them you love them,” “share your happy” and “you are awesome” while the notes being handed out to passersby carried positive messages such as “believe in yourself” and “enjoy life.”
The effort, dubbed “happiness sprinkling,” was planned by principal Susan Budgell who happened to see a similar effort online.
“I thought to myself, this might be something we could do to give back to the community,” Budgell said. “The community has been so good to us both with support for the playground and in everything else that we do that I really felt I wanted to give back, and I wanted the kids to give back.”
Budgell showed the students the video and asked if they’d be interested in doing some happiness sprinkling of their own.
“The vast majority of them thought it would be cool and then we also decided we’d do a flash mob dance as well to positive music to help get the kids involved,” Budgell said.
Students took to buses Wednesday morning and split up into two groups stationed at Tsain Ko Village near Starbucks and Trail Bay Mall at the entrance to Claytons Heritage Market.
The students started by walking with their signs and handing out notes at around 11 a.m. and then broke into an impromptu dance at the appointed time.
Many passersby were surprised and delighted by the display.
One woman said the effort “made my day.”
Budgell was thankful her students brought “some smiles and joy to people,” and said it was a valuable experience for everyone.
