At 12 p.m. Wednesday, students, parents and staff of PathStone Child Development in Coaldale grabbed noisemakers and headed outside yelling "Hoodie Hoo!!, Hoodie Hoo!!" as part of a growing winter tradition started in hopes of scaring the winter blahs away.

Teacher Stacy Walker came up with the idea after hearing about the winter tradition at other venues. "It started as a mid-winter celebration," said Walker. The "Hoodie Hoo" call was also used as a greeting on the Andy Griffith's ShowHoodie Hoo requires everyone to drop what they're doing at 12 p.m., head out onto the street, and yell "Hoodie Hoo!" at high noon. Apparently, this random noise is supposed to scare winter away and prepare for spring, which is exactly one month away."Thank you to all the teachers and family members that made Hoodie Hoo day so fun for the kids," said Tara McCarroll Stauffenberg, PathStone. "It's so neat to see the whole school come together for fun things like this."