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| A grade 5 student preparing to throw the shot put |
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This year’s grade 4-8 track and field meet was held on Thursday, May 16th at Sisler High School. This was the school’s third attempt at track and field – the previous two attempts were rained out. So finally on Thursday, May 15th after after opening exercises, the grade 4-8 students left for Sisler on two chartered buses.
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| Students lining up to enter the chartered buses just after 9:00 a.m. |
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IHMS has been holding its track and field events at Sisler High School for about 15 years. Sisler has a huge field for throwing events like 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. 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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| The open field at Sisler High School has very little shelter from the elements |
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Because of 2014’s late spring, there had been some concerns about cold weather and possibly snow on the day of track and field. In fact, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground the day before. However, conditions improved considerably by the next day, and it turned out to be a sunny, mild day with a high of 13 degrees. Students were told in advance to dress appropriately for the weather, but there were no complaints because the weather was almost ideal for outdoor activities!
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| Students relaxed for a few minutes at the basketball courts after being dropped off at Sisler High School. Mr. Dedio soon announced the first events |
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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
- Long Jump
- 60 m race
- 200 m race
- 800 m race
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| Grade 4-6 students waiting for their next event |
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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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| Junior high students waiting for their next event |
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Each event was supervised by a teacher and parent volunteers:
- Mrs. Stanowych and Mrs. Skromeda were in charge of long jump
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| Long jump with Mrs. Stanowych and Mrs. Skromeda |
- Mrs. Wittevrongel was in charge of discus
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| Discus with Mrs. Wittevrongel |
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- Mrs. Laird was in charge of shot put
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| Mrs. Laird was in charge of shot put |
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- Mr. Banias and Mrs. Halayda were in charge of ball throw
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| Mr. Banias and Mrs. Halayda were in charge of ball throw |
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- Mrs. Naurocki, Ms. Depiero, Mrs. Wdowiak, Mr. Dedio, Mrs. Shymko, Mrs. Copps, and Mrs. Argo ran the races and recorded each racer’s time
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| Teachers and parent volunteers in charge of the races |
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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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| Grade 4 students posing for a photo between events |
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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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| Parent volunteers provided the students with a delicious lunch |
The kids seemed to enjoy the day, and around 2:00 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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