Teacher Transforms Classroom Into Hogwarts And The Details Are Absolutely Magical

A 3rd grade teacher transformed her classroom into a Harry Potter wonderland

A group of third graders in Pennsylvania are currently living out the dream of every single kid around the world (and, er, some of us slightly older than that). They’re going to Hogwarts this year. Well, kinda. Tressa Mellow Bargella, a teacher in the Valley View School District, gave her classroom a Harry Potter makeover, and the results are truly, truly epic. Even Professor McGonagall would approve.

Every year, Bargella likes to come up with a theme for her classrooms. This time around, she decided she wanted to introduce her children to the magical world of Harry Potter.

“It was the perfect theme to tie in not only academics but also social and personal growth as well as life lessons,” Bargella told Scary Mommy. “Bravery, loyalty, friendship, and self-discovery ideals are on every page. Not to mention an overall concept of just good vs. evil.”

She worked tirelessly to transform her classroom into Hogwarts and posted the results to Facebook. The pictures have since racked up more than 125,000 likes and nearly 165,000 shares. Comments poured in, and everybody pretty much agreed that Bargella deserves all of the house points for this incredibly impressive work.

Now, let’s head to Pennsylvania’s Hogwarts and take the grand tour, shall we? Students were greeted by Platform 9 and 3/4 when they first approached the door (“Best to do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous!”)

There were house crests hanging from the walls.

A House Elves-themed wall for bathroom tickets, line leaders, and other classroom odds and ends.

A cage for the classroom pet a la Magical Creatures. An Owl. And – my personal favorite – a riff on the The Marauder’s Map “I solemnly swear we’re up to no good.”

Can we also take a moment to appreciate the rest of the signage? She did a masterful recreation of the font from the books AND made an epic cut-out of Hogwarts, complete with an owl. Oh, and can we please just take a moment of silence for the Moaning Myrtle she put in the sink mirror. Bless.

And why yes, Bargella did hang a Nimbus 2000 from the ceiling.

Her students were thoroughly impressed. “Their faces when they walked in were just priceless, some of them even eyes wide and jaws dropped,” Bargella said. “It is completely awesome!”

Bargella noted that she plans to bring Harry Potter into the curriculum as well. Last year, she read the first book to her students and saw that it really got her students into the spirit of reading.

“I put on my ‘British glasses’ and I read it with an accent and I change my voice inflection for the characters,” she recalled. “By the time we get halfway through the book, I start seeing some of my students feel confident enough to give it a try and then they begin reading out loud instead.”

It’s not just the magic that gets her students into the stories. There are a ton of very universal, relatable themes they can latch onto.

“So many kids today are dealing with difficult home life (like Harry with his Aunt and Uncle), they are dealing with bullying situations (as is Harry with his interactions with Malfoy), and they are really beginning to form lasting friendships (just like Harry, Hermione and Ron.),” she said. “Not to mention, at 8 and 9 years old, they are just trying to embrace their own identity and come into their own.”

Seriously, Teacher of the Year Award officially goes Tressa Mellow Bargella. And Harry, Hermione, and Ron better to there to present it to her.