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GQ | Volume 9, Issue 2 | Faculty Face-Off
FACULTY FACE-OFF
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Teachers fight it out to build the best gingerbread house
Words Sofi Treviño
Nine 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.
Nine teachers. Four teams. One goal.
Gradi Evans and Daniel Desalles work to build their gingerbread house in the competition held November 18.
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.
Team #1: Hurt, Arizpe & Jones
Team #2: Vis & Rocha
Team #3: Evans & Desalles
Team #4: Lester & Gachupin
With 30 minutes now elapsed, the judges got up and moved to the table of Team #1 to judge. Despite being behind in the beginning, Team #1 pulled through to the end, producing a classic Christmas gingerbread house, although a little messy. The roof was dusted with powdered sugar, adding to the cozy snow theme. The judges felt it would have earned higher marks had it not collapsed during judging.
They then moved on to Team #2, arguably the most professional looking house. They were going for a “whimsical” theme.
Ben Vis sprinkles powdered sugar "snow" on their gingerbread house as teammate Suzie Rocha watches.
Frosting icicles, a gingerbread man greeting you at the door and the ingenious use of edible silver sparkles tied together to become the perfect magical house. The judges agreed it was a contender for the top spot, despite being a little sloppy.
Cathy Lester and Sarah Gachupin talk with hosts, Annie Ramsey and Cassidy Egli, during the competition filmed by Cinematography students.
Leaving with high marks, they moved on to Team #3, a perfect example of a quaint log cabin, made of sweets! Pretzels laid across the front panel horizontally gave a surprisingly good illusion of logs, a wreath of frosting above the door gave it Christmas charm, and the inspired trees made of ice-cream cones coated in green icing gave it the true feel of a cabin in the woods. This house was the judge’s favorite and Mr. Russell could be heard commenting on its rustic charm.
Cinema student Aubrey Webb films the competition.
Finally, the judges arrived at the table of Team #4, probably the team most favored to win, if only because of the involvement of art teacher Mrs. Lester. The sunken-in house looked…dubious to say the least, and the walls were so heavily decorated it could only be assumed it was because of sheer weight that the house didn’t stay up. A small Bob Ross figure stood in the doorway, a cheerful smile despite the wreckage around him. Mrs. Lester attributed the mess of a house as a homage to modern art, ergo the mess.
“It was a disgrace to art and I expected more from the art teacher,” judge Piper Pruitt said. It’s safe to say this house was one “happy little accident” in the words of Bob Ross.
While some houses were undoubtedly a bit subpar, the contest was close nonetheless. After conferring with each judge, the winner was announced…
Team #3, aka Mrs. Evans and Mr. Desalles!
Mr. Russell attributes this to the clean building and creative use of decorations.
Doug Hurt, Autumn Jones and Luis Arizpe work to place the roof on their house.
Stay tuned for the next edition of Teacher Cook-Off which will be returning next quarter.
Design Sydney Griffey
Photos Lindsay Lee and GSB Photo Team
Graphics Sofi Treviño
