(May 16th, 2019–Jersey City, NJ) The 6th, 7th, and 8th grade went head to head at Field Day as they battled in events such as banner making, trivia, an obstacle course, relay races, and potato sack races. The day was full of fun and excitement thanks to the Field Day Committee members: Ms. Norrey Benito, Ms, Angela Cirillo, Ms. Alexandra Llaguno and Ms. Shannon Mattern.
In order to prepare for the day’s festivities, students were given t-shirts to decorate and tasked with creating a banner to represent their grade for the day. The t-shirts and banners played a role in the competition as their designs were scored on spirit and creativity.
Aidan Chappas, 6th grade, noted how he and his classmates were given an opportunity to express themselves as a team and as individuals. “There was a lot of school spirit but at the same time we were able to express our creativity freely especially through the t- shirts and banners.”
The competition began with a trivia challenge where students were asked questions on topics such as science, mathematics, language arts, and health and wellness. Each team had 30 seconds to answer the questions to the best of their abilities.
Following the trivia challenge, teams faced off in a fun obstacle course. The teams were timed to complete the course made up of basketball shooting and dribbling, volleyball bumping, soldier crawls, football passes, “rock, tree, and bridge”, soccer shooting, and ending with the team putting a giant puzzle together.
“I loved field day because whether you were in the crowd or participating you were still a part of the celebration and competition,’’ 8th-grader Emily Fernandez shared.
Throughout the day, the students were also expected to exhibit traits of sportsmanship and school spirit. All of the students in each grade met these expectations as they cheered for opposing teams and uplifted many of their peers.
Principal Allyson Krone proudly noted, “I was thoroughly impressed with the students’ sportsmanship as each grade applauded and encouraged the other grades. It was a wonderful display of Explore MS school spirit!”
The 8th-grade were the champions of the day scoring 100 points. The 6th grade came in 2nd with 75 points and 7th grade finishing in 3rd with 73. This Friday, the 8th-grade will celebrate their win with an ice cream sundae celebration!
“Hosting a school-wide event, such as field day, really helps raise school spirit and build friendships among the students and staff. We witnessed students encouraging each other, communicating, and collaborating all while participating in activities, learning, and having fun. It was a wonderful event and I’m thankful to everyone who helped make this happen,” Ms. Mattern shared on behalf of the Field Day Committee.
