As everyone looked on, Allan Olchowski held up a tiny, peach-colored pig — and planted a kiss on its nose.
But the Forest Ridge Elementary School students, who had been chanting ‘‘Kiss the pig” ever since arriving in the gym from their classrooms Friday afternoon, began to boo loudly. They had come to see Olchowski kiss a real pig—not a two-ounce plastic toy.
Suddenly the door at the back of the gym opened, and in walked a woman carrying a toy-poodle-sized, raincoat-covered bundle. The woman walked to the front of the gym and removed the raincoat — underneath it was a live piglet.
‘‘I’m here to keep my promise,” said Olchowski, who wore a lime-green tie decorated with cartoon pigs for the occasion. As he bent over and kissed the 3-week-old piglet on the top of its head, the students’ cheering echoed through the school.
The much-anticipated kiss was indeed a reward to the children. Olchowski promised last month that if 75 percent of students at the North Laurel school kept their pledges to not watch television for some portion of National Turn off TV Week, which began April 21, he would kiss a pig. The PTA sponsored the event.
‘‘We had a two-part form they had to turn in,” said PTA Vice President Beth Higgins. ‘‘The second part definitely had to have been signed by a parent.”
Though the entire school attended the ‘‘Kiss The Pig” event, 144 students turned in pledges. Seventy-two students turned off their televisions for seven days, 52 did it for four days and 30 did it for two days, according to Traci Dula, PTA first vice-president.
‘‘[This] was to encourage you to think of things to do besides watch TV,” Olchowski told the students. ‘‘There are lots of things that are enjoyable to watch on TV but unfortunately there are some things on TV that are not appropriate for children.”
Many of the students said they enjoyed the no-television exercise.
‘‘Since there’s [lots of] kids in my neighborhood, and it’s light outside now, I can go outside and play,” said third-grader Jelani Dula.
Fellow third-grader Ali Ahmed said Olchowski’s pig-kissing taught him a lesson.
‘‘I learned about keeping your promises — if you do, something good will happen,” he said.
The pig, named Edwina, came from Clark’s Elioak Farm in Ellicott City. She is being raised as a petting-farm pig.
‘‘I was researching on the Internet and other schools were [having administrators] kiss goats,” said PTA President Sheila Penders. ‘‘I have known of this farm for years, because my kids have gone there for field trips. Dr. O is game for anything — he’s got such great energy.”
Olchowski, whom other administrators often call ‘‘Dr. O,” kissed Edwina on the head a total of three times. As the kids prepared to exit the gym after the event, he told them, ‘‘I’m going to go brush my teeth ten times.”
E-mail Anath Hartmann at ahartmann@gazette.net.
