The Happiness Group
Dear parents/guardians.
The new school year has begun, and so has the Happiness Group. The Happiness Group is made up of 6th grade girls at Engjaskóli. The girls meet with me for Happiness Group sessions once a week on Mondays, where we focus on social and emotional learning based on the approach of Sue Roffey, one of the leading experts in children's social and emotional learning today.
Research shows that girls in Iceland from 6th through 10th grade experience more dysphoria than boys and are more likely to feel lonely (Icelandic Youth Survey, 2025; School Pulse Survey 2024).
On Monday, Nov. 10, the girls visited 3rd through 7th grade classes in small groups and introduced positive interventions that students will carry out with assistance from homeroom teachers.
We are also sending home the same workbook that teachers will receive. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with the curriculum. The first positive intervention is called Three Good Things.
There will be seven positive interventions — one per week — and they will be collected in a Happiness Portfolio that students in grades 3-7 will receive. Students will keep these portfolios from 3rd grade until they leave Engjaskóli.
Research has shown that positive interventions increase happiness and well-being. You can read about these studies here: research on the effects of positive interventions. Research also shows that engaging in peer education, as the 6th grade girls will be doing, increases self-confidence and belief in one's abilities while strengthening self-image. Their participation is designed to strengthen and empower them while also strengthening the entire school community, with a focus on increasing student happiness and reducing their loneliness.
Research shows that having meaningful, quality interactions helps protect mental welfare, and that's exactly what positive interventions encourage.
The Happiness Group responds to research findings from the School Pulse Survey, the Icelandic Youth Survey and PISA (Anna Kristín Sigurðardóttir et al., 2023). regarding student well-being.
Here's some information about me. My name is Bryndís Ingimundardóttir, and I'm a visual arts teacher at Engjaskóli. I completed my master's degree in education and pedagogy with emphasis on positive psychology in education and teaching at the University of Iceland this fall. I have a diploma in risk behavior and welfare of young people from the same school and have completed life coaching training. My undergraduate degree is a B.Ed. degree. My master's thesis is titled The Happiness Group "Now you're much braver" and can be found here on Skemman https://hdl.handle.net/1946/51536
Best regards,
Bryndís Ingimundardóttir