FACULTY FACE-OFF Teachers fight it out to build the best gingerbread house Words Sofi Treviño
N
ine Teachers. Four Teams. One Goal. Who would make a gingerbread house worthy of picturesque snow globe glory? Four teams of fine arts teachers rushed to put together the gingerbread house of their dreams using a pre-cut house set, frosting and various other supplies brought from home. They were judged by a panel of three judges; freshman Piper Pruitt, junior Mattie Sue Arnold and Rhetoric School Headmaster Mr. Dirk Russell. But who, exactly, was on each team? Here’s the lineup! The three pairs and one trio consisted of the Rhetoric Fine Arts Teachers. Team #1 was Mr. Luis Arizpe (guitar), Mr. Doug Hurt (theatre) and Mrs. Autumn Jones (theatre). Team #2 was Mr. Ben Vis (choir) and Ms. Suzi Rocha (choir). Team #3 was Mrs. Gradi Evans (band) and Mr. Daniel Desalles (band) and Team #4 was Mrs. Cathy Lester (art) and Mrs. Sarah Gachupin (orchestra). The scene of the contest was filled with students in Christmas pajamas milling around and two elves recruited to cause mischief. The judges sat at their table trying their best to keep impartiality while members of each team sporadically approached them in an attempt to bribe by any means possible. As the minutes ticked by, the teams worked hard to complete their houses. They were allotted 15 minutes for planning and prep, 15 minutes for construction and decorating and 15 minutes for judging.
Three of the four teams took the conventional route and constructed their houses before decorating them, but team #4 took a leap of faith and decided to finish the walls before sticking them together. They all seemed to be coming along nicely, except for Team #1, who was lagging seriously behind. As the timer ticked down, however, things seemed to slowly pan out. Each team used unique supplies, and onlookers could see everything from cinnamon candies to edible silver spray being used. Then came the surprise “ingredient.” Each team was required to incorporate a navy and white Geneva cheer pom-pom. As the timer ticked down to the last minutes, a catastrophe occurred. Team #4, having finished all their panels, started to assemble their house. Walls crumbled, the roof caved and the gingerbread house was now a gingerbread pile! Using quick, resourceful thinking, Mrs. Lester conjured up a story to tell to the judges.
Nine teachers. Four teams. One goal.
