One Maryland Principal Creates Viral Video on His Snow Day to Thank School Community

Sean Martin created a video to thank his faculty and staff during the blizzard.

ByABC News
January 28, 2016, 3:26 PM

— -- A principal in Columbia, Maryland got creative on his snow day.

Since all of his students at Waterloo Elementary School were stuck inside their houses after a historic blizzard dumped nearly 30 inches of snow on the area, Sean Martin spent Monday creating a video to motivate and thank the school community.

In the video, Martin not only recreates the famous dancing scene from the 1983 film "Risky Business," he shoots a few hoops in the school's gymnasium, plays around in the cafeteria, jumps out of a recycling trash can and even plays around in a classroom.

Martin, 42, told ABC News the video was only intended for students, parents, his faculty and staff. Still, after uploading it to YouTube, it's now been viewed more than 15,000 times.

The principal said before the blizzard hit, he challenged his staff "to photograph and document their snow adventures with their friends and family just as a way to stay connected." But after encouraging his school community to "have adventures and make memories," he had to get in on the fun too.

He enlisted the help of his 14-year-old daughter, who shot and edited the entire video on her iPhone. Since the video's debut, Martin said he's gotten a lot of "positive feedback and laughter" from the community, including from his former students.

"My hope was really to bring a smile to my staff, students and my community and make a new memory. Hopefully I've been able to put a smile on people's faces," Martin, who has 11 years experience as a principal, told ABC News. "My teachers and the custodians work so incredibly hard. I just want to lift them up for the jobs that they do each and every day."