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| Mrs. Wdowiak fired the starting gun for the races at Track and Field |
This year???s grade 4-8 track and field meet was held on Wednesday, May 8th at Sisler High School. IHMS has been holding its track and field events at Sisler for years because they have a huge field for throwing events (such as 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. Washrooms are available, but are located in a nearby community center on the other side of the field, and it takes a few minutes to walk there and back.
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So on Wednesday, May 8th after after opening exercises, the grade 4-8 students left for Sisler on two chartered buses. It was a cool and blustery day, but students were told in advance to dress appropriately for the weather.
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Because of 2013???s late spring, there had been some concerns about cold weather (and possibly snow!) on the day of track and field. Although conditions improved significantly leading up to track and field (with a high of 25 degrees on the two previous days), the day of track and field was bitterly cold and windy. Conditions improved as the day progressed, but there were a lot of complaints about the wind.
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| Ms. Depiero (above) and two grade 8 girls warming up in a blanket |
Track and field is always 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 – they were required to take part in all track and field events. These events include:
- Ball throw
- Shot put (new for this year)
- 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
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Each event was supervised by a teacher and parent volunteers:
- Mrs. Stanowych and Mrs. Romaniuk were in charge of long jump.
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- Mrs. Wittevrongel and Mrs. Argo were in charge of ball throw and discus.
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- Mr. Crooks, Mrs. Tycholis, and Mr. Jacobson were in charge of shot put.
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- Mrs. Naurocki, Ms. Depiero, Mrs. Wdowiak, Mr. Dedio, Mrs. Laird, Mrs. Copps, Mr. Terin, and Mrs. Mikawoz 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.
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For lunch, the students were given a hot dog freshly barbequed by parent volunteers. They were also given their choice of fruit, 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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| A parent volunteer setting up food for the students |
The kids seemed to enjoy the day, and around 2:30 p.m. the chartered buses returned to Sisler to transport the exhausted and wind-burned 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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