By the time you get this communication, there will likely only be a quarter of the day remaining for International Day of Happiness.  While such a day allows all of us Earth inhabitants to pause together and reflect on what brings us joy, let’s join forces and extend this opportunity beyond midnight tonight.

As principal at Almond Elementary here’s the beginning of my infinite list:

• The first grade student that oozes excitement at simply being alive
• The upper grade students who are taking care of our school by carefully putting their instruments in the right spots in the multi
• The very responsible fourth grade students who are making great choices in regards to appropriate conversational topics and play options
• The 518 students currently enrolled who give their all to grow their minds daily
• The staff that comes together to plan engaging learning for children
• The colleagues that bring tasty morsels weekly to nurture both stomachs and souls
• The teachers that opened their classrooms today for the LASD minimum day on how formative assessment supports differentiated learning opportunities
• Our district leaders and my principal peers that inspire me to continually push towards innovation and what’s best for kids
• Our PTA that has raised unprecedented funds at Almond to bring additional resources to our children
• The parents who volunteer their time in the classroom, STEM lab, library, Helping Hands, hot lunch program, and other school improvement projects
• The families that do the heavy lifting of raising our children before they step onto our campus and after their laughter leaves at the end of the day
• …

I leave you with this final thought.

Asking, “What makes ME happy?” does call into question how we define this term and focus us on the positive.  I wonder how we might answer this question, “What do I do that brings happiness to OTHERS?”  I will be asking myself that question as an individual, parent, and principal.  Almond Community:  I invite you to put on your various hats and ponder this thought along with me.