GAINESVILLE — The songs may have been brand new to Mount Vernon Elementary School students, but they were regular toe-tappers at one time — and may be still — for many of the adults present.

The Holly Children’s Theatre in Dahlonega performed "Schoolhouse Rock Live!" for all but fifth-graders at the North Hall school last Monday.

Fifth-graders had planned later to visit the historic theater off the Dahlonega square for the performance.

"Schoolhouse Rock!" was a TV sensation for baby boomers.

It was a series of short educational cartoons featuring songs about academic subjects including grammar, science, history, math and government.

The TV show, which ran mainly in the 1970s and 1980s on ABC, featured tunes so catchy that adults — even without knowing the words — could easily hum "Conjunction Junction" or "I’m Just a Bill."

Those songs and more, including "Unpack Your Adjectives" and "Do the Circulation," were featured at the Mount Vernon performance, which was part of the school’s arts program.

Kris Erwin, the parent coordinator for the program, said the point of the program is simple — to give students exposure to "different art genres."

"We have had a broad spectrum" of performers over the years, she said.

The children’s theater plans to offer performances Thursday through Sunday at the theater in Dahlonega.

The show strings together some of Schoolhouse Rock’s "greatest hits" through a story line that involves a main character, Tom, a nerve-wracked schoolteacher nervous about his first day in the classroom.

Tom tries to relax by watching TV when various characters representing parts of his personality emerge from the TV set and show him how to educate his students while entertaining them.

Before the show started, the actors prepared the students for some audience participation by handing out signs with adjectives written on them (such as "goofy," "brainy" and "hairy") and circular signs depicting planets within the solar system.

They also plucked one adult, second-grade teacher Pat Owens, from the audience to portray the sun in a later song. (To the delight of students, she appeared wearing gold-colored garland in her hair and sang and swayed with the music.).

Several students also portrayed immigrants in the song "The Great American Melting Pot."

The actors constantly mingled with the students throughout the performance. At one point in the solar system song, Kate McElliott sang to a girl holding Pluto, "Pluto used to be a planet, but now it is not," a reference to Pluto being classified as a "dwarf planet."

McElliott then pulled the Pluto sign from the student and handed her a star wand, which she began waving.

The children’s theater gave two performances, one for lower grades and another for upper grades.

McElliott, education director at the Holly Theatre, said the acting group tries to pick shows that have educational benefits but that also promote the arts.

"It’s great to get kids enthused about the arts," she said.

Two of the show’s performers, Benny Higgins and Sarah Peavy, are Lumpkin County High School students.

The school’s next performance is Ritmo Blu, a percussion-based trio, which is set for Nov. 29, Erwin said.

The school is planning a couple of fundraisers, including the fourth annual Silent Art Auction on Feb. 25, to help raise money for the school’s arts program, she added.