Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School observed "May the Fourth," otherwise known as "Star Wars Day" on Friday, May 3 this year. The celebration has become an annual tradition at the school.
Darth Vader (Dr. Gregory Matlosz, UGL Principal), Kylo Ren (Daniel Brophy, Physical Education Teacher), Obi Wan Kenobi (Paul Chiesa, Special Education Teacher), and Clone Trooper (Jonathan Russo, Music Teacher) greeted students as they arrived at the school for the morning drop off.
The "Star Wars" characters took the opportunity to visit classes and observe and partake in "Jedi lessons" that teachers used throughout the day with their students.
"We've noticed that when you use a theme as powerful as Star Wars, it truly motivates the staff and students in all of the content areas and social learning," Matlosz said.
The school dedicated its 2019 "May the Fourth" event to Peter Mayhew, the 7' 2" actor who portrayed "Chewbacca the Wookie" in five of the iconic "Star Wars" franchise movies: "A New Hope" (1977), "The Empire Strikes Back"(1980), "The Return of the Jedi" (1983), "Revenge of the Sith" (2005), and "The Force Awakens" (2015).
Mayhew was physically unable to perform again after the 2015 film due to chronic knee problems that left him requiring the use of his lightsaber-shaped cane, or being wheelchair bound, for much of his off-screen time.
Mayhew thus retired from the iconic role, but served as a consultant to Joonas Suotamo, his apprentice who shared the Chewbacca role with him in "The Force Awakens" before completely taking on the role for "The Last Jedi" (2017), "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018), and "The Rise of Skywalker" (release-Dec, 2019).
Peter Mayhew, aka "the original Chewbacca", passed away on April 30, 2019 - just 19 days shy of his 75th birthday.