Kids taste summer with 'Field Day'

Wearing T-shirts with the message “Make it Happen” seemed an appropriate wardrobe choice for J.J. Jones Intermediate School students who temporarily abandoned their classrooms and went outside for activities stressing other important aspects of education.

Officially billed as the second-annual Can-Do Carnival, Monday’s field day event at the Mount Airy campus on Riverside Drive had a dual purpose of rewarding academic achievement with an afternoon of fun — with fitness tossed into the equation.

The fun element that included games and competitive races was embedded with an educational component of teaching the value of staying active.

The playground in back of the school and other grounds there were filled with kids having a good time. Meanwhile, the scene inside was totally abandoned, eerily silent with nary a soul to be seen — which was the whole idea.

Yet the public shouldn’t be alarmed that the job of teaching was somehow abandoned, since Jones students had fulfilled that obligation by taking EOG (end-of-grade) tests last week.

“So we’re just kind of celebrating their efforts and how hard they worked,” Jones Intermediate Principal Dalton Tedder explained as joyful yells and laughter permeated the area along with music from a DJ.

Some of the youths were taking part in old-fashioned sack races, while others were engaged in sprints around a makeshift course — aided by plenty of encouragement from a professional trainer present.

There were also hula hoops, face painting, balloon tosses, sidewalk chalk art, football throwing and one activity in which kids lined up and poured cups of water over their shoulders to the person behind.

That produced predictable, but welcome results of being drenched with water on a day with temperatures in the upper 70s.

Also enjoyed was a snow cone machine along with other treats such as cotton candy and popcorn that contributed to the carnival atmosphere.

Active lifestyle stressed

However, the physical fitness element could not be overlooked during the Can-Do Carnival, which was staged through a partnership with a local business engaged in that field, PrimeTime Performance.

“PrimeTime and us just sort of teamed up,” Principal Tedder said of the event that was sponsored by another local business, Direct Metal Structures.

One takeaway organizers hope results from the Can-Do Carnival is that the students will remain active as they finish classes for the year and embark into summer.

Tedder said educators wanted to stress the value of getting away from computers and out of the house for fresh air and physical exertion.

Jennifer Wright, a reading resources teacher at Jones, who with fourth-grade teacher Megan Gentry were the chief organizers of Monday’s event, agreed that it had a reward objective.

“It’s motivation for the kids for their EOGs, to pay them back,” Wright said.

And the fitness activities are just as important, since healthy, alert kids function better in the classroom, according to Wright.

As the name “Can-Do” Carnival implies, the big picture involved teaching the kids that they can overcome obstacles both in class and on the athletic field — or anywhere, for that matter.

“They can do hard things,” Wright said of this theme. “It’s kind of a motivation for that.”

Wright also hopes the lessons learned by the youths Monday afternoon carry on into the summer.

“That’s the main thing, getting them out of the house.”