Mars Area Elementary School students will don pirate hats and eye patches, as they celebrate International “Talk Like a Pirate” Day on Friday, Sept. 18.

Students in several classrooms will participated in various pirate-themed mathematics, reading and social studies activities. Students will discover their pirate names; learn about pirate speak; use a compass to follow treasure maps; and will complete reading prompts, word searches, and more.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day was created by John (Ol’ Chumbucket) Baur and Mark (“Cap’n Slappy”) Summers in 1995. After receiving media attention, the parody holiday became an international phenomenon and is now celebrated, not only to engage students in education, but as a way to raise funds for charity organizations, such as Childhood Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

For more information, call (724) 625-3161.