One packed gym, 16 teachers, 30 minutes, and over 300 students kickstarted the first teacher showdown, hosted by the Student Council (StuCo), on Friday, Feb. 13, during Flex, where teams of four teachers competed in challenging and fun games for a staff showdown.

The four teams, Green Team, Yellow Team, Red Team, and Blue Team competed against each other in three main events: musical chairs with a twist, three-row basketball, and Gen Z slang trivia. Though facing tough competition, the Red Team, composed of English teacher Samantha Lozano, Spanish teacher Prisila Samaniego-Marin, Science teacher Christine Mihealsick, and Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography teacher Joshua Williams, put up a fight and took the win home.

“I was very excited to have been asked to compete [for the teacher showdown] and I was really happy to have done it,” Chemistry teacher and basketball coach Natalie Fischbach said. “Although next year, [StuCo] should let us pick our teams so we can come out and dominate.”

Green Team member and Math teacher Garrett Mott and Blue Team member and Spanish teacher Milybett Llanos-Gremillion tied at the musical chairs event. The game consisted of the traditional hunt for a seat when the music stopped, but with a fun twist: drunk goggles that simulated the feeling of dizziness and drunkenness when used.

“The musical chairs game was the most fun to watch because it involved two representatives of each team, which made it more funny and engaging to watch due to the fact that there were more rounds played since only one chair was taken away each time,” Ana Schiemer ’28 said. “Some teachers were pushing others out of the chair at the end to win, so it just looked like a fun joke and stunt to [the crowd].”

The second challenge was the long-expected trivia test consisting of 10 questions on subjects of shows, music, and commonly used slang. StuCo officers assisted the event as commentators, hyping the eager crowd. Representing the Red Team, Ms. Samaniego-Marin amassed the most points for her team than any other teacher. The third and loudest challenge was the basketball free throw match. In each team of four, two teachers competed in the first event, one competed in the second event, and the last teammate strategically placed in the third event based on who the team hoped would give them the highest chance of winning. Ms. Fischbach from the Yellow Team tied with English teacher and basketball fanatic Matthew McBrearty from the Green Team. Showing their basketball experience, both teachers missed few shots as they got comfortable on the court.

“McBrearty was the best teammate and competitor because he likes to play basketball,” Siddharth Sripada ‘26 said. “It was getting close in terms of points, [but] he still managed to win.”

At the end of the 30-minute tournament, the cheering stadium and high turnout showed StuCo and staff that the first teacher showdown was a success. Students walked out with smiles and talk of future annual teacher showdowns.

“They should do dodgeball next year because I think it would be really funny and would allow for all the teachers to participate all at once,” Schiemer said. “[The teacher showdown] was really fun to watch. It’s the type of event that has so many possibilities for different games and things to do in the next [few] years.”