Schools
5-4-3-2-1! Wilton Family Counts Down to Schools' Last Days
The Stewart family makes a tradition out of cheering the bus drivers, teachers and students through the final days of Wilton's school year.
There are few certainties in life, but chief amongst them are death, taxes—and the last day of school each year.
Wilton’s last school day is today, and one of the most fun local traditions tied to the day is always the Wolfpit Road Countdown.
What’s the Wolfpit Road Countdown? Each year, starting five days before the end of school, the Stewart family posts the number of days until summer break on a sign outside their home just a few doors downhill from Miller-Driscoll Elementary.
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“We started the tradition for the bus drivers. They have the hardest job in town, and this was something to make them smile,” says Viv Stewart, who posts the 3-foot high numbers with the help of her children. “But now, all the teachers look forward to it. The kids love it. People we meet in town know about it. They ask when our countdown is going up.”
Stewart reports her family has been doing the countdown for seven years.
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“My kids and I started it in 2005 when my daughters were finishing up third and fourth grade. My son was a preschooler and we’d spend a lot of time at the end of our driveway waiting for the bus. Since we live on a busy road next to Miller-Driscoll we see a lot of buses!”
The last day of school finds the family and their friends making it even more entertaining for the bus drivers and everyone else who passes by.
“We dress in costumes on the last day, and it’s always a surprise. Sometimes we wear hula skirts, and whoop and holler for each of the buses that passes,” she laughs.
The Stewarts grew the tradition out of what Viv says was an attempt to be half-glass-full about living on a busy road. “We tried to make lemonade out of lemons. We live on a road where there’s a lot of traffic. This was a way to have fun with that situation.”
They’ve also been able to really bond with the bus drivers as a result. “They have always slowed down to wave at us. The drivers love that we’re having fun. During the holidays, we always bring cookies to the bus barn. All of the bus drivers have been very friendly to us,” she says.
Like any good certainty, says Stewart, the Wolfpit Road Countdown is likely to continue for quite a few more years, even though her children have grown older than Miller-Driscoll students.
“We couldn’t stop. It’s a fun tradition," says Stewart.
