Parkside School will be hosting a “Wizarding World Day” this week as NBC’s “Today Show” and Warner Bros. will visit the school as part of a promotional tour for the upcoming “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”

The “Today Show”, representatives from Warner Bros. Entertainment, a few surprise guests will be at Parkside Thursday morning to recognize the school and showcase its Harry Potter themed hallways and classrooms.

Over the past two years, local artist Aaron Sullivan has been painting the school’s hallways with subjects such as Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss, the University of Alabama and Star Wars.

The school has taken another page from the Harry Potter series and began a house system that sorts every student from first through eight grade into a house and has them compete for points over the course of the school year.

Wizarding World Day will honor the teachers of Parkside School who rallied with their own time and money to bring the magic of the Wizarding World to their students, to inspire them, to educate them and to provide a safe and creative environment for them to grow and learn. 

After the assembly, the “Today Show” crew will film their show in one of the decorated classrooms, Cullman County Schools Superintendent Shane Barnette said.

“We’re really about the publicity that Parkside is getting right now,” Barnette said. “It’s bringing some well-earned recognition for the school.

Barnette said he is working on organizing buses that can bring over former Parkside students who are now at Fairview, and the school is also inviting the rest of the community — especially former Parkside students.

Parkside’s Harry Potter decorations have gotten attention from all over the world, and it is exciting to see one of the county’s schools get this kind of recognition, Barnette said.

“I think this is a prime example of what social media can do,” he said.

Everyone is welcome to attend, but space at the assembly will be limited, so people will be turned away if it gets too full, Barnette said.

“They’re welcome as long as we have the room,” he said.

Along with the recognition for its hallways, Barnette said Parkside has also been excelling academically, as the school was recently named a Lighthouse Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, and it also received a $20,000 grant through the Alabama Reading Initiative for its increased reading scores.

“Not only are they doing things to change the culture, they’re doing wonderful things academically as well,” he said.