Highlands staff take pies in the face, for a good cause

Easy as pie — that was the day before Thanksgiving break at Highlands High School.

A dozen lucky students were selected by raffle to toss a pan full of whipped cream at leery teachers and administrators in the high school gym. Students could purchase tickets — two for $1 — for a chance to make the throw.

Principal Shawn Bennis hobbled onto the basketball court with faux crutches, trying to garner sympathy.

It didn’t work.

Hyped-up students hollered for the pie-ing to begin.

The top prize was split between junior Eli Majocha and sophomore Kayla Colledge, who loaded up plates full of white goop and took aim at Superintendent Monique Mawhinney.

“This is the part of my job that I love,” Mawhinney said. “Some of the students asked me to participate and when I said yes, they were shocked.”

Mawhinney laughed and said she didn’t fully realize she would take several pies to the face.

“I think this was a great way to bring everyone together to have some fun, especially after the struggles many faced these past few years due to covid,” she said. “I thank everyone for making this event so special. I had a blast.”

Wednesday’s fundraiser brought in $500 for the Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) staff and student core teams.

New this year, the student team includes teens who work with teachers to develop ways to improve school culture.

Team members meet regularly to discuss ways to use PBIS grants, develop fundraisers and suggest ways to reward students who meet expectations.

For Majocha, the event showed that the school leaders were willing to take one for the team.

“I’m glad that Dr. Mawhinney and all of the awesome teachers and administrators offered themselves up for this cause,” he said. “I was really excited that we raised money by doing something fun.”