Laura Siegelbaum, principal of Beverly Farms Elementary, admonished a lunchroom full of fourth graders while wearing blue pajamas emblazoned with “Tweety” the cartoon character.
“Remember that your principals made fools of themselves because we love you so much,” she said.
Seigelbaum, and Principal Intern Zadia Broadus, were obliged to danced in their pajamas for the school on June 19 because students had raised over $3,000 for St. Jude’s Research Hospital in Nashville, Tenn.
“The money we raised goes to benefit children from Montgomery County,” said Tracy Topping, a PTA member who worked on the fund raiser.
The children collected pledges of up to 10 cents per math problem. “It was just the plain math,” said Erin O’Connor, a fifth grader who, at over $150, raised the most money in the school.
The students played an active and leading role in the project. “The interest is in promoting a community service project they could do themselves,” Topping said. “This way they could take an active part.”
Faculty at the school helped by setting increasingly silly rewards if the funds raised reached certain levels.
At $2,000, the librarians, who have rather short hair, would wear pigtails. Neither was surprised that they had to do it. “These kids will follow through,’ said Librarian Gina Perkins.
At $3,000 the principals agreed to dance in their pajamas in front of the school.
“I agreed in a moment of insanity,” Siegelbaum joked.
If the students had reached $5,000, they would have gotten to see their gym teacher and guidance counselor dancing and hula-hooping through the halls.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the fun on the next-to-last day of the school year, but the principal dancing in front may have been having even more fun.
“I love being principal at Beverly Farms,” Siegelbaum said.