Sometimes being a teacher means you will go home with a mohawk and blue hair at the end of the day.
This was the case for Monte McNaughton, a teacher in Manor, on Sept. 30, after 10 students and one fellow teacher cut, dyed and styled his hair after he lost a bet.
He bet students and staff at the school that if they could raise more than $4,800 for the annual Terry Fox Run, he would let them give him a new hairdo.
Of course, students can be quite motivated by the prospect of being allowed to style a teacher's hair (with no strings attached, other than his eye brows had to stay on his face where they belonged), so it's really no surprise that they managed to surpass the goal and bring in a total of $4,887.09.
When the announcement was made, the students erupted into cheers and chatter about how they would style McNaughton's hair. He appeared up for almost anything, though he was a little apprehensive over the fact that part of the deal was he would sport his new do for a week. A shaved head didn't seem too intimidating, but wearing a "George Costanza" hair cut for a week would be slightly daunting.
Students had about an hour-and-a-half to come up with ideas, as they stretched and then headed out for the Terry Fox Run. Some kids ran, some walked, and some sped around on roller blades.
There was a set route around the community, which older students (grade seven to 12) had to do three times. Middle-aged students (grade four to six) were allowed to do the route three times if they could, but if not they just did what they could manage. The youngest students stayed with their teachers, who went as far as the little ones could handle.
After the walk, everyone met back in the gym at 2:30 p.m. for treats and to witness McNaughton receiving his new hairstyle.
The school's top fundraisers were given the honour of being the hairstylists for the afternoon. Top fundraisers included:
Presley Onufreychuk: $775
Jett Big Eagle: $300
Madison Cuddington: $250
Colby Cuddington: $250
Cooper Fox: $200
Clougin Thul: $145
Mrs. James: $130
Jesse Hirtle: $125
Kyle Bye: $116
Nathan Bye: $116
Shelby Rose: $110
Since Presley Onufreychuk raised the most money (more than double what anyone else raised) she received the highest honour of making the first cut. Her face was gleaming with a big smile and bright eyes as she nervously put the clipper next to McNaughton's head and worked away with help from Mrs. James.
In the end, McNaughton's new hairstyle appeared quite unique - with a blue mohawk combined with other spots of blue on the side and back.
The students - both the hairstylists and those watching - clearly had a blast. Even the teachers and parents in the gym seemed to be enjoying themselves as they watched McNaughton receive his make-over.
Students and staff at the school were thankful to McNaughton for being such a great sport, and for helping to encourage them to collect many pledges to help Terry Fox realize his goal.
