Oprah, Morgan Freeman and Brett Farve were on-hand Monday at Bowmar Elementary for the school’s annual Leadership Day.

The actual celebrities weren’t there, but miniature replicas, students dressed as famous Mississippi natives, paraded around the school explaining the impact the Leader In Me program has made to parents, community members and visitors from other schools.

Wesley Bailess, fourth grader, welcomed guests and explained a little bit about why they had all been invited to the school.

“At Bowmar, we are putting Mississippi on the map,” he said, referencing the school’s theme for the year. “We are leading the way from the birthplace of rock and roll to the sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast, from the Delta blues to the Choctaw nations in Meridian. You can tell the seven habits run deep.”

Guests were split up into groups before travelling to different classrooms where they were shown a day in the life of a Bowmar student.

Marin Sherwin, a sixth-grader, said explained that each student gets a job at the beginning of the year.

“I help students get into their cars,” she said.

Sherwin is in her third year on the job and said she loves it.

“I’m the boss of the job,” she said. “In fifth grade, I knew it was my second year of doing the job, so I wanted to do it better.”

Sherwin approached a lead teacher Tondia  Ferracci about how to get more involved.

“She gave me the responsibility of hiring people, training people and typing up a schedule,” she said. “It was really fun for me because I got to bond with the little kids and experience what it’s like to be an adult.”

Principal Tammy Burris said the day was a success, and she was glad to be able to show so many guests some of the great things happening at Bowmar Elementary.

“We have Leadership Days so we can invite the community in so they can see what leadership looks like embedded into our school,” she said. “They get to see the students for themselves and see what takes place here.”

Burris said though the school has had Leadership Days in the past, this year different because the students, faculty and staff would be presenting not only for members of the community, but also attendees of the Leader In Me Symposium being held in Vicksburg this week.

“This year we’re doing a community day (held Monday), then (Tuesday) we’re inviting the symposium visitors,” she said. “That’s a very big deal to have the symposium here in Mississippi. I’m excited about bringing them to Vicksburg for them to see us and other schools in the process. I’m very proud of our district.”

The theme for the day was all about putting Mississippi on the map, Burris said.

“We all got together and talked about Bowmar and this theme just fit,” she said. “They incorporated it throughout all of the classrooms and throughout the school. As Bowmar, we are putting Mississippi on the map.”

Burris said the school really owes its success to the community.

“I want to thank the community again,” she said. “Without the community getting behind us, none of this would have happened. I’m excited to be in Vicksburg where I can see all of this.”