Hats off to Emerson students

Molly Shore

Madcap kids at Emerson Elementary School came to class wearing the

zaniest chapeaus they could dream up.

It was part of the school’s annual Crazy Hat Day, celebrated on

St. Patrick’s Day, which was Monday.

“I just used a regular cowboy hat, a hula skirt and a jester hat.

I found them in a box of costumes and put it all together,” said

Zaakirah Daniels, 10, of his creation.

Second-graders Kendra Cole, 8, and Dana Williams, 7, fashioned

their wild hats from supplies they purchased at Party America.

The girls chose green and black bowler hats, and went crazy from

there. They glued big gold stars to the fronts of their hats, and on

the top they attached shiny green shamrocks. The final touch was

entirely appropriate Monday morning: With gale-like winds whipping

through the city, the pinwheels atop their hats spun furiously.

Kendra said they didn’t have any special ideas in mind when they

began to make their crazy hats, just that they wanted to be

different.

“It’s supposed to be a crazy hat and most people wear just a

regular hat,” Dana said.

It took the girls about 30 minutes Sunday to make their hats, Dana

said, adding that her mother and 10-year-old sister, Amy, helped them

with their project.

Fifth-grader Amy’s hat was as bright and outlandish as her

sister’s. Her blue-and-gold bonnet was decorated with multicolored

party horns protruding around the brim.

Raymond Bolden, 7, said his mom helped him make his hat.

“It was coming close to St. Patrick’s Day, so my mom thought of

it,” the second-grader said.

His creation was fashioned from a paper plate decorated with green

paper ribbon, green shamrocks, gold coins and a smiling leprechaun

perched on the front.