KITTERY, Maine — One school in southern Maine got a very special surprise Friday.
Students and faculty at Horace Mitchell Primary School in Kittery got to witness their principal do something they’d been wishing would happen for months.
The day started like just another school day, but it was special for kindergarten through third-grade students: It was pig day.
After learning about the idea in a class book, the first-grade class begged Principal Ally Gamache to kiss a pig.
“That's what gave us a really good idea," Maya Winterdavis, a first-grade student, said.
“We had this worksheet that said, 'What are your hopes and dreams for the school year?' and almost every single kid wrote for Miss Gamashe to kiss a pig," first-grade teacher Baylee Cox said. "So, I called her up on the phone and thought it was going to be a silly thing for her, and she was like, 'Yeah, I'll do it!'"
The agreement was made on the condition to challenge the students to keep learning.
“I thought, 'Why not?' You read so many books, and I'll do it,” Gamache said.
After 59 days of school, the students read 1,000 books and met the goal.
“Now it's going to happen, and I'm really excited,” Winterdavis said.
The school headed outside and waited on the curb to witness the kiss happen.
“I made you do a 1,000, and you did it. Excellent work! So now we have our friend Phoebe over here, who I get to kiss," Gamashe said.
The student body said it was all worth the wait and the 1,000-books challenge.
"It'll be a great core memory for them," Cox said. "They will grow up and remember the day their principal kissed a pig."