Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center second-grader Eviel Alvarez-Martinez was named Leap Year King on Feb. 29 to celebrate his second real birthday.
While Eviel is 8 years old, his true birthdate only falls on the calendar every four years, so teacher Sue Sheets-Odo wanted a big celebration.
Students throughout the entire school participated in a Leap Year parade, hopping like frogs through the halls. “Leap, leap, leap!” they sang.
To prepare, Odo’s students studied different frog species, life-cycles and habitats and the astronomical science behind Leap Year. They made frog masks decorated in the colors of blue-eyed tree frogs, poison-dart frogs and other brilliantly hued amphibians.
Odo also wrote a book titled, “The King of the Leap Year Parade,” which teachers read to their classes before the celebration.
Eviel has mixed feeling about his birthday. “It’s sad because it comes only every four years…but that’s when I get a lot of presents!”
