Mashing Two Holidays in One, GALA’s Earth/Pi Day Celebration

Two important holidays happen on the same day. Firstly, Earth Day, a day centered on giving back to the earth by keeping it clean and educating ourselves about how we can keep it healthy. Second, Pi Day, a day where the date matches the first digits of pi: 3.14. Both of these holidays have absolutely nothing to do with each other, so what’s the reason to talk about them in the same breath? Well, on Friday, April 21, GALA brought these two holidays together, creating an Earth & Pi Day Celebration!

During lunch, students gathered around the field to visit the different booths dedicated to both Earth Day and Pi Day. Students from all different grades dedicated their time and energy to coming up with creative, fun, and clever ways to promote both holidays. It was a very informative but also fun experience. I visited many booths and got to learn about several different ways to help save the environment and give back to the earth, and also got to participate in many fun activities like naming different digits of pi.

Around the end of lunch, the main event started. There is a GALA tradition where, a week before the celebration, students donate money to the teacher they want to be pie-d. At the end of the week, the teacher who had the most money in their jar gets pie-d in the face by a student with the whole school watching!

This year, the teacher that had the most money in his jar was none other than computer science teacher Mr. Hale. According to Mr. Hale himself, this isn’t the first nor last time he’ll get pie-d. Apparently, it’s custom for his 8th graders that he does a little something, like a dance, or a flip before getting pie-d. This year, I had the honor to pie Mr. Hale; he told me that his students wanted him to do a ballerina twirl before the pie-ing; they also gave him a paper skirt and some Minnie Mouse ears to go with it. According to Mr. Hale, his students had been planning this for over two months!

It’s crazy how much effort everyone put in to make this celebration special. Usually, these holidays aren’t as celebrated or appreciated as much as the major ones, like Christmas or Halloween, so it was amazing to see everyone giving it their all to make this celebration one of the best.