Carrboro Elementary School students got a taste of what it would have been like to grow up in the 1950s at a sock hop Friday afternoon.
The school’s auditorium was packed with hundreds of smiling students clad in poodle skirts and colorful scarves, saddle shoes and bobby socks, and leather jackets and rolled-up jeans.
They danced the hand jive and sang along to songs like Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba†as loudly as they could. There wasn’t a school book in sight.
The sock hop was part of a series of events that the Carrboro Elementary Parent Teacher Association is planning this school year to celebrate the 50th birthday of CES.
Students, teachers, faculty and staff were invited to wear 1950s-style outfits to school Friday, and after lunch they filed into the auditorium for the celebration.
“The teachers were very enthusiastic,†said Mandy Boddy, a member of the PTA’s school fair committee who attended the sock hop. “I was amazed by how many poodle skirts and bobby socks there were.â€
In addition to donning costumes on Friday, teachers helped students prepare for the sock hop during school last week.
In P.E. and music classes, students learned dances and songs that were popular when the school opened in 1957, and in art class they made varsity letters and poodles to pin to their outfits on Friday.
“I thought the sock hop was a blast,†said Principal Emily Bivens, who emceed the event.
Bivens also said the sock hop was a great way to integrate a part of history into the celebration of the school’s birthday.
“It worked out really well,†said Assistant Principal Amanda Crisp. “Sometimes, kids just need to go crazy.
“Our PTA is wonderful,†Crisp said. “I have never worked in a school where the PTA is this active.â€
The year-long celebration of the school’s birthday will culminate this spring with a design competition for the school’s new logo in April and the School Fair, which will be held on Saturday, May 3.
Thank you for coming to cover the Sock Hop at Carrboro Elementary. Many more fun things are on the schedule, so stay tuned…..