Here’s how Mr. Fousek’s fourth period AP Government class spends the week before Thanksgiving break: by studying for Thursday’s unit test and catching up on their reading; by having the mock trail Justices convene in the hall and have the attorneys debate the outcome in another room; by hoping that, besides the test, there won’t be any hard work to be done; and (if you’re senior Amani Raymond or senior Taylor Petersen) by planning a secret pizza party.
For Amani and Taylor, the idea of “Mr. Fousek Day,” whose name stemmed from the idea for everyone to wear plaid shirts to mirror their teacher, started a week before.
“While half the class was at the Getty, [Mr. Fousek] was going over next week’s schedule,” Taylor said. “He said the Friday before break was empty and he was still planning something to do. I started chanting, ‘Pizza party,’ but he ignored, so I took matters into my own hands.”
Taylor then recruited Amani, and the two quickly got more people on board.
However, the planning didn’t go unnoticed.
“When we were going around spreading the word and getting donations, [Mr. Fousek] was just sitting there watching us like, ‘What are they doing,’” Amani said. “Then when [senior Anne Yilmaz] and I went up to his desk, he asked us what was being planned. We of course told him it was nothing. He seemed to believe us, but he mentioned how there was a possibility of us being double-agents.”
With Mr. Fousek’s nerves placated, all that was left was to do was wait until Friday.
“We ditched third period and went to pick [the six pizzas] up from Costco and the [chips, cookies and soda] from Albertson’s,” Amani said. “When we walked through the door with everything he just looked at us like, ‘I can’t believe you guys did this.'”
“Once I got over the shock of it, I was fine with it,” Mr. Fousek said. “It was only okay because, in my opinion, there wouldn’t have been a better day all year that they could have chosen because we were watching an educational video. It was an appropriate and responsible time to organize it.”
And yes, Mr. Fousek did have a slice of pizza.
“I did partake,” he admitted. “It was tasty.”
[Originally printed in Vol. X of Westview Currents]