LYNN — On Wednesday, four Thurgood Marshall Middle School students got to live a dream most children can only fantasize about — throwing a pie in their teacher’s face.
Roughly 40 middle school students crowded the school’s cafeteria Wednesday afternoon to celebrate Pi Day. After Math Department Head Helena Diamond talked to the students about the Pi function, she and Principal Stephanie Doucette filled pie trays with whipped cream.
In an effort to raise funds for the middle school’s math department, 300 students bought $1 raffle tickets for the pie-throwing event. The four winners — Daisy Zarate, Steve Ganther, Liam Cabrera, and Maliek Brown — got to choose a teacher out of a pool of 30 volunteers to pie in the face.
The kids roared with laughter, cheering when Brown smeared the face of Vice Principal Tim Ferrari – the final victim – with pie.
While the event raised approximately $500 for future math department events, Diamond said that the Pi Day celebration helped the kids return to hands-on learning and fun after a hiatus during the pandemic.
“We’re connecting the Pi concept for math,” Diamond said. “They’re introduced to it in seventh and eighth grade, and we try to get all teachers on board and have fun with it and get the kids engaged with it.”
Doucette echoed Diamond’s remarks, adding that the event serves as a way for children to learn about the pi function in an exciting way.
“It’s to show kids also that math can be fun, and to enjoy math together as a community,” Doucette said. “Why not have a little fun?” Doucette said.
