About 250 Arellanes Junior High School students crowded into a circle Friday around seventh-grade English teacher Gina Vaus and the school's head custodian, Casey Aguirre.

The pair - each wielding a whipped-cream pie - turned toward each other, their bodies locked in fighting stances.

As in a classic Nickelodeon TV gag, Vaus and Aguirre each proceeded to smash their pies into the other's face.

However, instead of a gag, for Vaus and Aguirre the stunt was in the name of a good cause that raised more than $100 for the American Red Cross through the school's Builder's Club.

Students paid 50 cents a vote to choose two staff members who would have the honor of having a pie smashed in their faces at the school's annual Fall Fun Day.

The money from the vote went directly to the Red Cross to help victims of the recent Southern California wildfires.

Though someone else had placed his name on the ballot, Aguirre, as he tried to get the whipped cream out of his hair and off his face, said he didn't really mind receiving his “prize.”

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“I've been here for 14 years,” he said. “It's for a good cause. It's for the kids.”

The Builder's Club was not the only club on campus raising money on Fun Day.

With classes canceled for the afternoon revelry, Arellanes School's eight clubs and other organizations set up booths filled with food and games, in hopes of raising enough money to finance various projects and activities.

Music blasted from the campus courtyard, where two girls were swing dancing together, along with several other students.

Later, a group of kids walked off the impromptu dance floor in search of some steaming hot chocolate.

Set up around the perimeter of the courtyard were game booths where students could play scrabble, get their faces painted, or toss a wet sponge at a willing teacher or counselor.

Food booths offered everything from corn-on-the-cob to sodas.

In one corner, the honors math and science classes hawked nachos and brunuellos - a fried tortilla sweetened with cinnamon and sugar.

The honors classes were joining forces in the hopes of earning funds toward their college tour.

Every spring, said honors math teacher Sonya Morris, the honors math and science classes choose a city and visit a University of California campus, a California State campus, and a private school in the area.

This year's groups hopes to visit colleges in San Francisco.

Eighth-grader Samuel Hernandez said he is looking forward to the tour so he “can see what kind of math classes” he needs to take to get into a top school.

As the afternoon came to a close, eighth-grader Gabriella Chimal snapped photos of the whipped-cream-covered Vaus and Aguirre.

“It was funny,” said Chimal of the pie smashing. “It was my first time (seeing a pie smashing).”

But her favorite part of the day?

“The sponge toss,” she said with a laugh.

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santamariatimes.com

November 17, 2007