Neale Elementary students walk past a 1929 Ford Model-A Friday as they prepare to release balloons for the school’s 100th birthday. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

VIENNA — Neale Elementary celebrated its 100th birthday Friday with a day full of festivities, history, and school pride.

The event brought together alumni, teachers, students and local partners to honor a century of education and memories.

Principal Bree Marlow said planning for the event began years ago with former principal Linda Brunicardi.

“We’ve been planning it for a few years to be ready to celebrate,” said Marlow. “And so we wanted alumni, teachers, retired teachers and former students to join in a little piece of history.”

Students gathered in the gym to start their day where Title I Reading Instructor Kelli Azinger talked about what life was like in 1925 when the school was built.

Fifth-grade students at Neale Elementary performed the Charleston Friday as the school celebrated its 100th birthday. Students learned the popular dance from the 1920s and later participated in games that were also common then, including marbles, checkers and a ring toss game. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“It was very different then,” Azinger told students. “They call them the Roaring 20s because things were really good in our country at that time. People were doing fine. They were happy. But then there was also this thing called jazz, this new kind of dance and music, that made everything really lively and fun.”

Fifth-graders then demonstrated some of those lively dance moves by performing the Charleston for the crowd.

Students also got the chance to hear from former students like 86-year-old Laura Thompson.

“There’s been some changes,” Thompson said. “It’s been great to be back.”

She talked about some of the changes the school has gone through such as where the current library is where she used to go to class.

Neale Elementary Title I Reading Instructor Kelli Azinger, left, talks to Laura Thompson about her time at Neale Elementary for the school’s 100th birthday celebration. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Students then moved their celebration out to the field next to the school where they sang, “Happy Birthday” and released some balloons. They then returned to their classrooms where the celebration and learning continued with snacks and videos about the 1920s.

“Kelli (Azinger) looked up different videos, so we tied it all to our standards,” Marlow said. “Even though we are celebrating, it was tied to our standards where they could see the differences (from then and now) and hear the accounts of the different people.”

Students then spent the day rotating through games from 100 years ago that included marbles, Lincoln logs, ring toss and many more.

Marlow, Azinger and teacher Lisa Hayes said community support played a key role in the festivities with help coming from the Grand Central Church of Christ, the PTO and Judy and Norm Smith, who brought their 1929 Ford Model-A for the kids to look at.

“There’s a huge amount of pride that former students, people in this community have,” Hayes said. “There’s four generations in some families that have come to Neale, and they are just so proud of that legacy and being a part of our history.”

Neale Elementary fourth-graders Alec Johnson and Barrett Heiden learn to play marbles from Ryan Ice during the school’s 100th birthday celebration Friday. (Photo Provided)

Looking ahead, the school plans to continue the centennial celebrations with representatives from Chemors coming in November for a science exhibition.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com.

Neale Elementary fourth-graders Paisley Hinton, Audrey Cole and Miles Wetzel play a game of checkers Friday during the school’s 100th birthday celebration. (Photo Provided)

Neale Elementary third-grader Akilah Jones plays a game of ring toss Friday during the school’s 100th birthday celebration. (Photo Provided)

Neale Elementary third-graders Steven Haught and Oliver Cline catch plastic fish Friday during the school’s 100th birthday celebration. (Photo Provided)

Neale Elementary third-graders Haven Moore and Elle Hughes play jacks Friday, a popular game during the 1920s, during the school’s 100th birthday celebration. (Photo Provided)

Fifth-grade students at Neale Elementary release balloons Friday as the school celebrated its 100th birthday. Students from the entire school gathered on the field to sing “Happy Birthday” before the release. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)