Prank at Calgary high school draws apology from principal

A high school principal in Calgary is apologizing after a pep rally prank saw male students tricked into unknowingly kissing their moms.

Filmed by several people in attendance, videos of the incident have been shared widely on social media.

In a letter to students and parents, Western Canada high school principal Martin Poirier said the Nov. 1rally was held to support the school's fall sports teams.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS|194th Avenue bridge opens in south Calgary
• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Calgary homicide detective writes true crime book with focus on life lessons

"The activity was intended to be good-natured; however it did not play out as intended," the letter reads in part.

The video shows a group of male student athletes some wearing jerseys standing on the gym floor, with hundreds of students watching from the bleachers.

The boys are blindfolded, believing they will be kissed by female student athletes. But unbeknownst to them, their moms stepped in instead.

One mother gives a quick kiss on the lips, another appears to offer a hug, but another kiss continues for an extended amount of time as students jump around and scream.

"When my daughter told me about what happened at the pep rally, I felt physically ill," said one parent who CBC has agreed not to name.

"I couldn't believe the school would be involved in humiliating students in such an awful way. Did anyone actually think about the impact this would have on the boys? Of course there were a bunch of videos circulating immediately."

In his letter, Poirier wrote, "I would like to apologize for the activity, in hindsight, the school regrets how this unfolded. We recognize that these activities are not appropriate and will not be repeated."

Poirier said school officials have met with organizers of the pep rally to discuss concerns.

"We have also reached out to the family involved to provide support," he wrote.

"These types of pranks will no longer be allowed to occur and we sincerely regret any embarrassment this has caused."

A similar prank also played out at Ernest Manning high school this week, with photos posted to social media showing a student being kissed.

"We have reinforced the inappropriateness of this kind of activity with our schools," read a statement from Calgary Board of Education.

"Regardless of the intent, these types of activities are not appropriate and are not to occur at any of our schools."

• Read more articles byCBC Calgary, like us onFacebookfor updates and subscribe to ourCBC Calgary newsletterfor the day's news at a glance