TOWAMENCIN – Walking through the halls of North Penn, students are noticing a peculiar difference in one of their English teachers.

It’s the new image of Mr. Michael Rio, a popular English substitute who usually shows off his famous trademark of impressive and abundant facial hair. But he’s in rare form for the next two weeks; he’s bravely decided to shave his prized beard, mirroring various literary icons for an English department fundraiser.  The fundraiser is aimed at garnering money for the English department’s senior awards. These awards are for students who have excelled in their English classes, and they provide a way for the school to recognize their accomplishments. Mr. Lucas Henry, the chair of the English Department at North Penn, facilitated the fundraiser.

‘It’s a creative, fun way to raise money towards something that we always do but again it incorporated Mr. Rio, who’s a fixture of the English department” explained Henry. “We also tried to have an English tie-in with the famous literary figures”

During the contest, any faculty member or student could donate money to the beard choice they felt was the most outrageous, including Henrik Ibsen’s, J.D. Salinger’s, William Shakespeare’s, and Mark Twain’s.

“At first I was a little hesitant…” said Rio, “but we finally came down to the final competition and I was up for it.”

Whichever style had the most money put towards it by the end of the contest was the winner. In Rio’s case, well, he had to please the crowds. For a day, he bore the enormous sideburns and shaved chin of Henrik Ibsen, but after a day, he thought it would be best to try the Salinger look, a simple clean shaven face. But this will be no easy task for Rio…

“I put money down for Twain’s Mustache because I thought that would be weird, but normal enough to be seen in public. If I had the Ibsen for two weeks, I think being in public would’ve been a bit strange’ he said. “It’s going to be tough shaving every day and keeping it clean because it’s something I’ve never done before. I usually just let it grow” Rio said with a grin.

All in all, the fundraiser went better than expected, raising close to $850 dollars for senior awards in the years to come.

“I give a good chunk of credit to Mr. Rio for just being a good sport about the whole thing” said Henry.

Henry was happy with the turnout for participation in the contest and Rio will now be sporting a new look for the next several days to come.