For a day, they traded in a controlled environment involving food in the cafetorium, books, and musical instruments for flying whipped cream pies, a musical variation of charades using kazoos, a challenge to build the tallest structure using odds and ends ... and agility and endurance-testing/rigorous activities including an obstacle course and rowing machine exercise.

Not your average day at Newtown High School.

Then again, this was Sunday. When the principal's away the students and teachers alike will play.

Teams of students and faculty put their brains, athleticism, and creativity - and ability to have fun - to the test during the Newtown High School PTSA Nighthawks Challenge, at the high school, on March 11. A variety of stations were set up in the main gymnasium and auxiliary gym, cafetorium, and lecture hall during a two-hour event open to NHS students and faculty from throughout the district. Money raised from the event will go to a charitable cause or school improvement that NHS students will vote on.

"The goal was to get different types of kids together to build teams," said Laura Hubner, PTSA vice president at NHS, and one of the event organizers, adding that students with different strengths including athletic ability, and various thinking skills are needed to form a well-rounded squad. "We wanted the kids to mix and match."

Mixing and matching the best among 15 teams, ranging from four to eight people, was The Six Musketeers, which scored the most points among 11 unusual activities. The Six Musketeers comprise NHS students Constantine Vogiatzis, Isabella Wakeman, Zach Crebbin, Julia Clark, Emma Riebe, and Brett Deri.

Among the events at which this group excelled greatly was in the Build-A-Structure Challenge. Teams had a few minutes to concoct a structure made of random objects such as plastic cups, pipe cleaners, Play-Doh, tape, and a balloon. The freestanding abstract structure had to stand for ten seconds.

"It exercises your creative side, as well as problem solving, and teamwork, while getting everybody's ideas together," acknowledged Constantine, whose team made a 65-inch-tall creation.

Teams put their creativity to the test even before the event.

Head O' Meadow School faculty Lisa Kilcourse, Lisa Nobes, Karen Dreger, and Steve Dreger, had the team name L2-D2, which placed second in the competition. Their team shirts included an outline of R2-D2 with their team name overlapping it. The L2-D2 team members said they were having a wonderful time working together and added that they triumphed in the Kazoo Challenge, among other events.

The Kazoo Challenge was the musical variation of charades. Some team members played, as best they could, songs on flash cards held by Board of Education member Michelle Ku, while other teammates had to guess the tune.

One of the teams was called Sawyer Sauce Beier Beware, making good use of the names of team members Sawyer Findley and Elise Beier.

"We're having a great time - a lot of fun," said central office participant Jim Delgado, and member of the Allstar Pencil Pushers team.

The Lucky Charms were decked out in green garb appropriate for St Patrick's Day, and earned third place. The team members are McKenna Cuomo, Heather Stroili, Dylin Marano, Abby Watson, Matt Memoli, and Debi Modzelewski.

Blind-Folded Word Scramble Challenge, Trivia Challenge, Dance Challenge, and 3-Point Shot Challenge.

The events includes a cupcake decorating contest called Cupcake Wars Challenge, Project Adventure Tire Swing Challenge, Row to Nowhere Challenge (using a stationary rowing machine),

Winners of the Team-Theme Costume Challenge were Wonder Women, which included Reed Intermediate School's Anne Uberti, Julie Shull, Lara Brown, and Dawn Ford.

The Spray Whipped Cream Pie Throwing Challenge was enjoyable for each of the team participants, as well as the targets, teachers Trent Harrison and Larry Saladin.

"I'm really enjoying doing this because I have an obnoxious partner who's a professional agitator," said Mr Saladin, referring to Mr Harrison. "Every once in a while they miss and hit me so I have a good job, and it's all for good cause."

Ms Nobes, after hitting Mr Saladin squarely in the face with her whipped cream pie, put her hands to face and had a look of total guilt.

"I feel badly hitting a fellow colleague," Ms Nobes said.

Mr Harrison taunted some of his students - "I get to heckle people," he said proudly - and, like his partner/pie-in-the-face victim, enjoyed being on the receiving end of the mess.

"It's great to see faculty, administrators, and students collaboratively work together and raise money for a good cause - and have a fun time doing it," Mr Harrison said.

"We're hoping this is going to be an annual event," Ms Hubner added.