Students get a St. Patty’s Day welcome

It was “top o’ the morning to you” Thursday at Lincoln Elementary School in North Glendale, where staff, students and parents started the day off with the famous St. Patrick’s Day trappings.

Students were welcomed to the campus by a bagpiper and a trio of Irish dancers, including current Lincoln Elementary student Sinead Martin, 8, and her sisters, Ciara, 13, and Sayla, 22, both Lincoln Elementary graduates. The dancers wore intricately decorated dresses and elaborate wigs in accordance with competitive Irish dance costume.

“My grandparents are from Ireland,” Shayla Martin said. “They hosted a party and I saw [Irish dancing] there, and ever since, I wanted to dance. My mom put me in lessons when I was 4.”

Her sisters followed suit, and a hobby transformed into a life-long passion. The sisters have traveled as far as Ireland to compete.

The St. Patrick’s Day celebration was a first for the school, said Principal Bill Card, adding the event was an opportunity to introduce the students to a long-standing Irish tradition.

“The spirit moved us and we said we are going to have [the performers] here,” Card said.

Students embraced the theme of the day, wearing glasses, hats, socks, coats and shirts in numerous shades of green.