A Lena Shaw staff member gets pied. (Images submitted by Lena Shaw Elementary)
While some students may have spent this year's Pi Day (March 14) learning about the mathematical constant, students at Lena Shaw Elementary were watching teachers and staff have pies thrown in their faces, all for a good cause.
About 20 school staff, including teachers and administrators, had pies put in their faces in the name of charity, raising nearly $1,000 for Surrey Hospitals Foundation in the process.
"One of our teachers, Yena Shin, and her Grade 7 students wanted to do something fun for Pi Day and came up with the idea of a fundraiser using pies," said Principal Natalie Roberts. "From there, it evolved into a pledge campaign, with about 20 staff signing up to be pied."
Students were encouraged to donate to their preferred staff member, with every $20 raised meaning another pie in the face. The campaign would conclude with a special assembly where all of the participating staff members had cream pies put in their faces by students in front of the rest of the school.
"Some of our staff members were more popular than others, and so several of us got multiple pies in the face, including me," laughed Roberts. "The students were really into it, they were reciting pi as others were cheering and chanting during the pie throwing.
"It was a really like a pi-themed pep rally and everyone had so much fun."
The school raised $948.50 and presented a cheque to Surrey Hospitals Foundation on Monday.
"Raising these funds was a great effort by our school community and some of our families have even received support from the foundation," Roberts said. "For us to be able to give back like that, it really speaks to how wonderful these children are and what kind of community this is. They're showing that everyone can make a positive difference in their community."
