Students at Garfield Throw Pies in Their Teachers' Faces

principal Mark Walter found himself in a sticky situation on Monday afternoon after one of his students threw a pie in his face.

But it was OK.

The sanctioned activity was part of an initiative to encourage school attendance and punctuality, in conjunction with Pi Day — an annual international event dedicated to the irrational and transcendental number (3.14) that represents the relationship between a circle’s diameter and its circumference.

But Garfield students took a different take on the day.

“To promote positive attendance, we gave students with perfect attendance the opportunity to ‘pie’ their favorite teachers,” said Walter, adding that about 600 students qualified for the opportunity.

About 25 students were selected randomly in a drawing to throw whipped cream pies in the faces of their favorite — or least favorite — educators.

“In the budget crunch we’re in, we wanted to be as frugal as possible,” Walter joked about the choice of pies.

He made them himself. 

Both Garfield and Harding middle schools participated in Pi Day activities — and T-shirts were made to mark the occasion.