PBIS Halloween Dance Party
By: Emma Quintal
Over 350 students did the Church Clap and The Love Slide at the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Halloween Dance Party after watching Fine Arts teachers Morgan Jarvis, Brian Olson, Luke Roberson, Tia Litke and Courtney Bath get “pied” in the face last week.
Well, it wasn’t actually pie, but a pie tin filled with whipped cream and a hidden piece of bubble gum. Each teacher pied the next in the face, sparing Ms. Litke and Ms. Bath…at first. In the end, all five got the “pie.”
Mr. Olson said they had to “pie” themselves in the face, find the piece of bubble gum in the pan, then blow the first bubble.
“I’m very upset because ‘Mr. Husky’ himself won — I think he got corporate bubble gum while the rest of us got [generic] bubble gum,” Olson said jokingly. He was referring to Morgan Jarvis.
According to Jarvis, “Senor Olson has made some wild and inaccurate claims about my character. He knows full well that my gum was no different than his. For someone who talks so much, you would think he could chew a little quicker.”
Students loved the scene, laughing with their friends and filming the antics, which was part of a fundraiser for future PBIS events. The PBIS team collected money during lunch over the last few weeks for the privilege of choosing which department would be pied. The “winners” were the Fine Arts teachers.
“I think the kids enjoyed it,” said PBIS director Kristi Varnadoe, “and that’s all that matters.”
Varnadoe said PBIS fundraiser money goes toward future events in order to fund rewards for “kids who are doing what they are supposed to do and for following the PACK,” which means to portray a positive attitude, accept responsibility, choose to be respectful, and keep learning first.
Varnadoe said that PBIS plans to have monthly celebrations, although because there are only three weeks before Thanksgiving, the next event will be in December.
Dr. Latoya Smith was on hand for the festivities and was happy to see students enjoying themselves. “I liked to see all of them doing the church clap,” which the girls from the Unified Program led at the end of the dance, Dr. Smith said. “And the one y’all do in class. It was fun because in class they don’t put their whole bodies into it.”
Mrs. Varnadoe said she was pleased with the event because the students were enjoying themselves. “I want to get the faculty and the kids more involved in implementing PBIS because I want to change the climate and culture of the school for the better,” she said.
Of the over 700 eligible students, “we had about half take part, which I’m glad about considering the issues we had with tickets. It is a learning curve, and we are getting better every time,” she said. There were long lines during lunch to receive tickets for the event.
The PBIS team’s next goal is to find a way to involve the entire student body in activities that everyone can enjoy. Dr. Smith said the committee plans “to collaborate with the student body” for the next event.
