Most kids in New Orleans dream of being in a Mardi Gras parade, as drum majors or flag twirlers. Some schools give them the chance to live that dream early, on a smaller scale.
On Friday, elementary school students at Morris Jeff in Mid-City paraded around the building in homemade costumes and handed their parents throws.
Each class had its own theme, either a favorite book, like “Rainbow Fish,” or a unit they’ve recently learned.
The school’s fourth graders picked Greek myths. Kindergarteners dressed up as their favorite holidays, inspired by a picture book called “Our Favorite Day of the Year.”
“Mardi Gras is one of my favorites because I get to ride the float,” says Ace, who's a kindergartener.
He wore a string of beads and carried a red plastic trumpet on his walk around the school with his teacher Brittany Mitchell.
“We get to share our Mardi Gras culture with our families who are from around the world,” Mitchell says.
Ace was a little nervous “because last year it was less people, but now this year, more people.”
“We’re getting popular,” Michell replies, laughing.
Some of the school’s older kids marched with its pelican band, dressed in matching suits, sunglasses and converse. They played “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked” and the Scooby Doo theme song.
The pelicans will march again at Barkus which has been rescheduled for the weekend after Mardi Gras.
