What started five years ago as a way to boost student morale has become an anticipated tradition at Vienna Elementary School.
“Hooray for Diffendoofer Day” was celebrated Friday, Sept. 24, to reward the students for doing well on the Standards of Learning tests last spring. Teachers, dressed up as characters from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, acted out the story of a school whose students had to pass a test or go to another, less lively, school.
Before gathering in the school’s gymnasium, students paraded around in the halls, singing a song from the book to the rhythm of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from the Disney movie “Mary Poppins,” gaining students from each room as they made their way down the hall. The students were also treated to a party of pizzas, milk and cupcakes.
“This is such a fun day,” said principal Linda Clark. “This celebrates what wonderful students we have here."
Last spring was the first time that all of Vienna Elementary's fourth-graders passed the SOL test.
"Our teachers take great pride in our students,” Clark said. “The kids rise to the challenge every year. I’ll get calls in the summer not to see how the students did on the SOL tests, but to see if we get to have another Diffendoofer Day in the fall.”