Mark Twain Elementary School Vice Principal Mark Rodina, dressed as the Elf on the Shelf, visits first-grade teacher Jill Schwartz’s classroom Dec. 19 and greets Leila Hermo, center.
Photo by Jessica Garcia.
Leilani Hermo, a first-grader in Jill Schwartz’s class at Mark Twain Elementary School, moved around with joy with the “elf” when he popped in for a visit Thursday.
Hermo was showing her Christmas spirit with her hair shaped like a Christmas tree with ornaments pinned to it.
“He was going to be silly,” Hermo said of what she liked about his entrance.
Vice Principal Marc Rodina has assumed the role of the “Elf on the Shelf,” based on the 2005 children’s book.
Rodina donned a full red elf costume with a pointy hat and mittens and appeared unexpectedly in classrooms, on the playground or on a roof.
“The first day that I actually did this, the elf was up on the roof, and at the beginning of school, all the kids came and saw me up there and they’ve just been having fun … and they keep saying, ‘Oh, you are the elf!’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” Rodina said.
“And every single day, they come in and they want to find the elf. They want to see me, they chase me.”
Along with his adventures and tricks, the school posts a poem to its Facebook page, and students arrive wondering what their “elf” has been doing. Administrators also began “naughty” and “nice” lists for students to move teachers’ names where they see fit.
Casandra Blankenship, Mark Twain’s office specialist, suggested the idea.
“I thought I was going to have to convince him,” she said. “But it was that easy, and I knew he would do it because he genuinely wants to be at work every day, and he loves to see them happy. He goes into the lunchroom and does magic tricks for them and plays music, so he loves it. … He’s just a big teddy bear.”
Activities like the “Elf on the Shelf” target the school’s attendance improvement by enticing youth to stay in school, Rodina said.
“We’re here to build young people and make them happy and grow, you know, all the academics that come with it — math and English, but really we’re trying to grow nice people,” he said.
Schwartz called Rodina a “fun influence” on students.
“He creates a wonderful, cheery atmosphere,” she said. “It’s just the best. They love coming to school because of those kinds of things. It’s very special.”
The Elf’s antics have impacted the staff’s activities as well. On Thursday, he moved all of the teacher’s chairs around the school so they had to seek them out as they entered the building in the morning. But above all, he said the character abides by Mark Twain’s “pillars” to be kind, safe, respectful and responsible.
“A lot of teachers are very stressed and worn out, and they need some happiness and some excitement in their life,” he said. “I mean (the elf) is kind of mischievous, but it just brings excitement and when I see the kids come in, they're excited. And now the teachers come in and they don't know what to expect, but he's good-hearted.”
The elf won’t be the only visitor Mark Twain gets this school year, he promised.
“Next time, it will be the Easter bunny,” Rodina grinned.