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| A grade 7 student preparing to run the 400 meter race |
This year’s grade 4-8 track and field meet was held on Tuesday, May 12th at Sisler High School. IHMS has been holding its track and field events here for years because Sisler has a huge field for throwing events (shot put, discus, and ball throw), a sand pit for long jump, and a large asphalt track for running events.
Unfortunately, because it takes place on an open field, there’s very little shelter from the sun and wind, so sunburn and windburn are common complaints the next day. Also, tripping and falling on the asphalt track can be dangerous and painful, and although washrooms are available, they’re located a few minutes away in a nearby community center on the other side of the field.
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Unlike last year’s cold weather (because of a late spring), Tuesday, May 12th was a beautiful day to spend outdoors. The weather was sunny and breezy with a high of 15 degrees. Since students were told in advance to listen to the forecast and dress appropriately for the weather, most students came prepared. Fortunately, the weather was almost ideal for outdoor activities, so after opening exercises at IHMS, the students left for Sisler on two chartered buses.
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| Students leaving IHMS by bus and relaxing at Sisler before the events begin |
Track and field is an exciting adventure for all students, but it’s especially exciting for the grade 4 class because it’s their first real track meet. Since the grade 4-6 students are learning what kind of events they may excel in or enjoy, they have fewer options than the junior-high students in selecting the events they want to enter. In fact, they were required to take part in all track and field events. These events include:
- Ball throw
- Shot put
- Long Jump
- 60 m race
- 200 m race
- 800 m race
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The junior high students, on the other hand, were able to sign up for whatever they wanted, as long as they chose a minimum of three running events out of five. However, everyone had to participate in shot put, discus, and long jump. The grade 7 and 8 events were:
- Shot put
- Discus
- Long Jump
- 100 m race
- 200 m race
- 400 m race
- 800 m race
- 1500 m race
Each event was supervised by a teacher and parent volunteers:
- Mrs. Stanowych and Mrs. Ruff were in charge of long jump
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- Mrs. Wittevrongel and Mr. Dram were in charge of discus
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- Mr. Banias was in charge of shot put
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- Mrs. Halayda and Miss Rowe were in charge of ball throw
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- Mrs. Naurocki, Ms. Depiero, Mrs. Wdowiak, Mr. Dedio, Miss Karhut, Mrs. Hutsulak, Mrs. Shymko, Mrs. Copp, and Mr. Terin ran the races and recorded each racer’s time
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| High jump is the only field event that is usually done at IHMS because the large foam mattress, the poles, and the stands are too large and bulky to transport to Sisler High School. Mr. Dedio does high jump in the school gym during regularly scheduled Phys. Ed. classes. |  |
For lunch, the students were given a piece of pizza by teacher and parent volunteers. They were also given a piece of watermelon, a bag of chips, and something to drink. This made it very convenient for the students because they didn’t have to bring a lunch to the track meet.
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| Students, teachers, and parent volunteers relaxing during their lunch break |
The kids seemed to enjoy the day, and around 2:15 p.m. the chartered buses returned to Sisler to transport the exhausted students back to IHMS. The winners for the different events will move on to represent our school at the “Knights of Columbus Track and Field Meet” at the beginning of June.
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| Exhausted students were glad to board the bus back to IHMS |