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| Messenger photo by Rachel Scofield |
| Math teacher Beth "The Brick" Bricker prepares to hurl a dodgeball at a Greyhound senior as part of Grove City High School’s fund raiser for the local food pantry. Behind her are special education teacher Ryan "Speed Kills" Alexander and social studies teacher Matt "M.J." Jordan. |
Grove City student council president Grant Mosher "wanted to increase student interest" in the annual canned food drive for the Grove City Ministerial Association.
"I decided to fully organize a student versus teacher dodgeball tournament, to be held during an in-school assembly." Mosher said. "I spent many hours planning it all out and discussing the details in the principals’ offices, and I was able to get the green light on my project."
For three canned food items or $2, students could spend their study hall in the gymnasium on Dec. 19 watching the games.
"The school interest far exceeded my expectations," Mosher said. "Over 1,000 students bought a ticket – nearly the entire student body! The event has been the talk of the school all week."
Michael Crabtree, the student council advisor, watched the action unfold from the loft that held the jazz band. While the eight student teams battled below, the band played rocking holiday tunes.
The players hurled the balls with such force that ricochets bounced high into the bleachers. Crabtree said he didn’t think his fellow faculty could win.
When the mayhem concluded and a winner emerged, the "Satan Faculty" swaggered onto the court full of confidence and trash talk. Their team shirts boasted nicknames like "The Decapitator," "Speed Kills" and "The Brick."
They faced the "Incredibles," a senior team that included Mosher.
Within minutes, the teachers schooled the seniors on their mastery of how to dodge, dip, dive and duck. A second round ended just as quickly.
To give the audience more for their money, the officials invited the aptly named
"Juniors" to join the "Incredibles" team. Together they posed a worthy adversary and the "Satan Faculty" crumbled under the tag-team assault.
"We need an opportunity to pound on the students every once in a while," said special education teacher Ted "D Chosen 1" Williams. "This was a fun activity the student council put together."
Of course the real winners are all the people who depend on the food pantry.
The student council collected more than 5,000 cans of food and $1,000, said Crabtree.
