The word of the day was “motivation” at Greenville Elementary School on Monday. The pep rally in the school gym included cheerleaders, inspirational speakers, and classes performing cheers and skits.

But it wasn’t for any athletic team. This pep rally was designed to motivate GES students to do their best on the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test (ARMT) this week.

Jeddo Bell, Greenville City Council member, retired educator and The Greenville Advocate’s 2010 Person of the Year kicked things off by leading the students through some of the lessons they learned the first nine weeks in his Conversational French classes.

“Un, deux, trois . . .” The sounds of numbers and songs in French echoed through the gym.

“See, you learned those things back in the first nine weeks and you still remember them . . . it’s important to learn and to do your best. There are a lot of opportunities for you in life with a good education,” Bell said.

He lead the students in an affirmation: “I am going to do as well as I possibly can on all my tests.”

Coach Michael “Mookie” Moore, former NFL player for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers, told the students that plenty of preparation and practice, whether in the classroom or on the playing field, is necessary if you want to win in life.

“Education is important . . . I left school early to play in the NFL. I got hurt, and I so I went back to school . . . I’m in school right now, working on my Master’s degree,” Moore said. “You need that education to be able to take care of yourself and your family.”

The GES cheerleaders led the student body in several familiar cheers and dances with a new message: “How high, high, high can you score?”

GES classes also put on a series of skits, incorporating rock beats, beat boxes, rapping and more, all designed to cheer on the students to do their best on the big test.