"Good morning, guv'nor," said the young man dressed in Victorian style, complete with ruffled shirt, as he walked into the classroom.

Craig Henderson and his mom, Kathleen, pieced together an outfit appropriate to the occasion, using a ruffled shirt leftover from a Halloween pirate costume, a vest and long jacket they found in his mom's closet, and dress pants and shoes he owned.

Despite his manner and dress, this wasn't Victorian times; it was Dec. 18 at Hampton Middle School, where 12-year-old Craig and his seventh-grade classmates were celebrating Victorian Day.

Created four years ago by teachers Mary Ellen Hilko and Kelly Emmett -- now a teacher at Hampton High School -- Victorian Day is an interdisciplinary event that marks the end of the unit during which students study Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," written in 1843.

"We wanted a way to take what they have learned and turn it into something that would be fun and a special occasion," said Mrs. Hilko, a reading teacher. "It started out small, but it has evolved to include several activities."

The activities are those that would have been common to seventh-grade students during the Victorian Era, which was from 1837 to 1901 in England, coinciding with the reign of Queen Victoria.

Students rotated from room to room where they played parlor games, made Victorian ornaments and played charades, a common game of the period.

The girls were treated to a tea in the school library. "I bring in some of my china and silver," Mrs. Hilko said. "We set it up the day before so that it looks like a tea parlor." English teacher Jennifer Rossi, Mrs. Emmett's replacement, helps Mrs. Hilko with the program.

Dana Del Bianco, owner of the Purple Rose Tearoom in Lawrenceville, provided tea and scones and talked to the students about how tea parties came about, tea etiquette and the dress of Victorian times. During the tea, four students played violin and cello, common music from the era.

Like Craig, many of the 135 students dressed in clothing that resembled nothing of their usual attire.

Kelsie Michaels wore a white gown that had been her mother's prom dress, complete with long white gloves and hair in ringlets. She also borrowed a hat from a friend.

"I was really excited when I found out we were going to have tea and we could dress up," Kelsie said.

Classmate Lauren Mullarkey-Williams borrowed clothes and a hat from her grandmother. "This is so fun and a lot better than going to regular classes," she said.

"Plus, we are learning a lot," Kelsie added.

While the girls had tea, the boys designed Victorian political cartoons.

Led by history teacher Jamie Pillar, the students researched the style of cartooning on the Internet, then created cartoons either using computer-assisted programming or by hand.

"We had links for the children to use, and then they could use their own imagination and create the cartoons. Some are funny, some serious and some gory," she said.

As Luc Kaiser created his cartoon, he shared what he had learned during the day.

"We learned all about child labor and how poor many people were back then. And we learned a lot about what they learned and the types of games they played," he said. "This is really pretty fun."

The girls also were treated to a Victorian fashion show presented by Patti Peer, of Paper and Lace. The boys studied Victorian architecture for their final rotation. The unit ended with a field trip Dec. 22 to see the CLO production of "A Musical Christmas Carol."

The activities were funded by a minigrant awarded by the Hampton Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization.

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