Riverhead middle schoolers ‘pie’ their teachers in honor of Pi Day
To raise funds for the PTO and celebrate Pi Day, Riverhead Middle School’s teachers, staff and administrators endured a barrage of pies courtesy of an army of seventh and eighth graders.
Students who purchased tickets were handed plates loaded with whipped cream, which they hurled at a line of teachers geared up head to toe in shower caps, safety goggles, garbage bags and plastic booties. The students could purchase as many tickets as they liked, so needless to say, things got messy pretty quickly.
“I had an amazing time,” said a whipped cream-covered Raul Cardenas, who teaches eighth grade Spanish. “It was a great opportunity for students to see us in a different light.” The educator said that even if some of those pies thrown were personal, “that’s okay, this is the time where students can let all their feelings out.”
The pie throwing took place on March 14, or Pi Day, an annual tradition based on the Greek letter π, or pi, which in mathematics represents an irrational number which begins 3.14 and is followed by an infinite, never changing series of decimals. (For those with a foggy recollection of middle school math class, the constant is used to calculate the circumference of circles and myriad other mathematical equations.)
Students could purchase a single pie for $2, or a trio of pies for $5. The Riverhead Parent Teacher Organization collected the funds raised, which among other things, will support an eighth grade field trip to the Lake Compounce Amusement and Water Park in Connecticut.
Among the students who purchased tickets was Adelaide Boese. With her three pies, the seventh grader successfully dolloped three targets.
“They’re all my teachers, but I love them,” she said, assuring her pies were not thrown with malice. “I think it was just a fun thing to do for our school and I was excited to do it.”
Riverhead Middle School principal Joseph Pesqueira faced down the army of pie-throwing students alongside teachers and staff. He believed the event was well worth the mess and the mayhem.
“It’s always great to see the kids have fun,” Mr. Pesqueira said. “I know the day-to-day stressers of life are tough, but I saw a lot of smiles today.”
