Field Day at Glenwood Elementary School is all about Teamwork

The days of blue, red and white ribbons are a thing of the past. Today's students learn to work together instead of against each other for the top spot. Field Day is filled with 18 different events, which two teams, green and white, get to participate in. The students are also teamed up in pairs.

"What's really unique about our field day is that we have our first and second graders on teams with older kids; each of the first and second graders have an older buddy [3rd, 4th or 5th graders] that looks after them," explained P.E. teacher Patricia Jackson. "Some of the older kids really blossom in that role."

The focus on teamwork really lowers the anxiety students may have while competing. Jackson wants kids to have a little bit of a competitive nature, but by helping the younger students they learn a more valuable lesson.

Jackson does have a few prizes up her sleeve. The team who wins the dash competition does win a bracelet, which Jackson describes as "just for bragging rights."

At the end of the day everyone is a winner; the school does let students know which teams has the most points or scored the best just so students can take pride in what they have accomplished that day. The school also honors the team that showed the most amount of sportsmanship.

A group of students told Patch they loved field day. One of their favorite events was Continuous Tag. They also loved running and wished there were more field days. They all agreed it was hard work (and enjoyed break time), but it was all worth it.

Most of the games were variations of traditional sports and some of them where unique games Jackson had created in their gym class. Students really enjoyed the various games like Quick Sand or Spring Cleaning. Quick Sand was one of the less physically strenuous games, but mentally challenging because they goal was to build a "bridge" out of different materials like tires and pieces of foam; then they had to work together in order to cross. The breeze kept students cool, but also carried a few "bridge" sections away. Another unique game was Spring Cleaning. Students had to run a relay while carrying an armful of random items.

In gym class, older students play floor hockey so there is a station where students can score goals like in the real game. Also there was a relay version of basketball where students ran around cones and then headed up to the net for a slam-dunk.

"Thank goodness for Michelle Obama making it [children's fitness] a priority," said Jackson. Glennwood definitely is on board with the First Lady's initiatives. Along with field day they also have a very active running /walking club after school.

"It's [wellness] definitely valued in this district," she continued. Jackson is very proud to that Glennwood continues to put focus on the wellness of its students.