Principal Ronnie Manis said the school has been participating in the Sprinkle Happiness day every year since 2016 — with the exception of when the COVID pandemic struck. He brought Sprinkle Happiness to Anson Elementary school after seeing pictures of people participating online. On the back of the signs were signatures of people from different parts of the country.

“There’s California, Tennessee, Ohio,” Manis said. “There’s 21 signs. We take the signs and sign the back. [Previously] they would call us and tell us to ship them to another school or this state. These signs have been all over the place.”

He believes the movement might have died down, though. The Sprinkle Happiness organizers have not contacted Anson Elementary for the past couple of years. However, the activity is something that continues in Marshalltown, and each year, the response from the public has been fantastic.

“We’ll have random cars drive by numerous times just to wave and honk at the kids,” he said. “We’ve had people stop and tell us we actually made their day. That is all this is for — just to show some kindness.”

Anson Elementary Principal Ronnie Manis hands out Sprinkle Happiness signs to first grade students on Thursday. The school has participated in the Sprinkle Happiness movement every year since 2016, with exceptions for COVID-19.

Marshalltown residents have told Manis seeing the students made a bad day brighter.

“It’s real gratifying for us to do something that is just being kind,” he said. “It’s that simple.”

Manis said it is something the students look forward to as they love it so. It was unfortunate when Sprinkle Happiness was rescheduled from last week due to the rain.

Every grade level had the opportunity to participate — from pre-school to fourth grade — for about 15 minutes toward the end of the school day.

The best part, he said, is seeing the community support the students, who thoroughly enjoy it. When drivers responded with honking encouragement, the kids would enthusiastically jump and cheer, smiles spreading across their faces. Manis recalled a special encounter with a driver a couple years ago.

Anson Elementary third grade students Mario Ramey and Elijah Davis Noun smile and wave to cars as they drive by. It was part of the Sprinkle Happiness project which is used to spread positivity.

“Somebody brought a giant bag of candy for the kids,” he said.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.

Anson Elementary paraeducator Rosa Ordaz and third grader Kevin Hernandez share their happiness with people driving by in their vehicles at the intersection of Third Avenue and Anson Street on Thursday. They were participating in the Sprinkle Happiness movement, and have done so since 2016.