Just before winter break, a special video from a local school garnered some widespread attention for lots of positive reasons. The video, called Woodland Wonderland, that is based on the well-known song, has gone viral locally on Facebook this holiday season. According to St. Clair County RESA, it started with a simple conversation.
Tom Moore works as a substitute at Woodland, a standards-based program in Marysville designed specifically for students with significant disabilities. According to RESA’s weekly newsletter, Moore recalls joking around with some Woodland staff members a few months ago, saying it should be called “Wonderland” instead of “Woodland.” After that conversation, Moore found himself looking up the lyrics to the song, Winter Wonderland and decided to write his own version.
When he’s not substituting, Moore freelances as a sound person who does video work for TV networks and other clients. With Principal Diana Maison’s approval, he recorded the scenes for the now-viral video over the course of two days with Woodland teacher Michele Ebmeyer who sang the lyrics, recorded in one half-hour session. In total, Moore said he spent about eight hours editing the video over two weeks.
The video, which features many Woodland faces, first premiered to Woodland staff members just before the holiday break, and when it was later posted on Facebook it has since been viewed more than 23,000 times, reaching some 44,000 people.
Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.
