Chris Wejr, principal of Shortreed Community Elementary in Aldergrove, continued his tradition of snow day videos when the Lower Mainland was blanketed in up to a foot of snow on Sunday, Feb. 2.
With the schools closed and empty of staff and students, Wejr filled the halls with his own lyrics about the weather over Jelly Roll's "I Am Not Okay."
This year's song was a bit more humbling compared to last year's where he paraodied Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA."
The video starts with a panorama shot of the front of the school building, before transitioning to Wejr standing out front of the school.
"I am not okay, barely got to school, rather be in bed," he sings.
He followed the same procedure as last year's video, picking multiple spots around the school to sing.
The idea for the snow day videos started in 2019, when Wejr was working with the school’s former vice-principal Mark Touzeau during a two-day district-wide school closure due to snow.
“He showed me the power of video to help create a positive culture at the school. If the video shows some vulnerability, as clearly I’m not a singer, and makes some people smile it is great for the culture of school,” he said.
For his lyrics, Wejr said he scrambles in the morning to put relevant words together for a song.
“I love seeing the kids when they get back to school and bug me about [the videos]. It just adds a fun element to my work,” he laughed.
On Monday, Feb. 3, schools across Langley were closed due to the wintery weather.
“A huge thank you to district maintenance crews who never get a snow day,” he said.
