Taft High Principal Mary Alice Finn invites all students to attend Pizza with the Principal. This event happens each month. There is an email invitation form where each student could put whatever they wanted the principal to bring up and talk about. The next event will be on Nov. 7. Pastries with the principal is on Nov. 8.

One of the topics students brought up this year was water bottles. Students asked why they took away water bottles from breakfast and lunch. Finn said that the school wasted $15,000 on water bottles when most kids didn’t even finish all the water from the water bottles. Instead, they just throw it in the trash can with water still in it. Another reason was that the school doesn’t have a clear recycling program for plastic. Ironically, a smaller water bottle costs more than a bigger one, so it will be more expensive buying those instead, so students use cups as an alternative.

The students also brought up the juice and why they took it away from the machines in the cafeteria. The reasoning behind this is because there’s too much sugar inside the juice, so instead of wasting more money on buying less sugary juice, they removed it.

They also asked about the new school dances and security. When ASB or any other group set up a dance, they get all the money that they receive from the dances. It doesn’t go into their pockets, but into their organization. In every dance, they need security to be there and keep it under control. The school doesn’t allow CTEC Law Enforcement to be security at the dance. Finn stated, “We don’t want to put a student in a situation they can’t control.”

The principal was also asked why they took away the bacon from breakfast. The reason for this was also because it was too fatty and wasn’t healthy for anyone.

Finn stated that Taft High also has a new agreement with Adidas, so now, whenever we need something new for sports or new equipment, we get a discount. This helps the school save money.

Everyone had a great time talking about everything and eating pizza. Finn stated that there’s a “Pizza with the Principal” that will happen every month. For October, students were invited to “Pizza with the Athletic Director” and “Pastries with the School Resource Officer” on Thursday. These events are a time for students to ask questions and become more involved.