Funny, I have done a lot of game/graphics related programming using python and panda3d, which is written in c++ and has nice python bindings [0]. Sure, you can't just do "import wheemakegames" but the tools are out there. The same is true for GUI apps. If you want to click on stuff just have them use pyqt or pyside. I think that teaching students about other packages and how software actually works together is very important. Having said that packaging a python program into an executable installer or even just an executable is a pain in the ass ("What sane person DOESN'T have at least one working python interpreter?!?").
One of the issues I've had using Python to teach in the last few years has been the glacial transition to Python 3 for some packages, often with some annoying cross platform inconsistencies (trying to keep up with two or three different tool kits for one purpose because of different support for Windows vs OS X is annoying).
I really enjoy Python as a language, I enjoy using it for teaching fundamentals, but I really don't enjoy using it for teaching 'the fun stuff' as far as high school kids are concerned.
I might consider switching to JS in my new school. I was looking forward to perhaps using Swift but the new place is Windows-based.
0. http://www.panda3d.org/manual/index.php/Main_Page