Despite the fact that not everyone attended the same elementary school, there’s a good chance that a lot of people have one specific, similar experience at the end of their school year: a day of fun to ring in summer, with activities like bouncy houses, carnival-like games and prizes and sweet treats for all called Field Day.

As students move up from middle school to high school, Field Days typically become a thing of the past. As kids get older, they still enjoy letting loose and hanging out with their friends. If anything, the need for a stress-free day becomes more prevalent. What benefits would a Field Day at LSHS bring, and what could it look like?

Field Days are remembered by many students as days of relaxed fun, but they are more than just that.

Field Days engage students, build teamwork and strengthen bonds between individuals and the community. Even though the primary goal of school is to teach students and prepare them for future education or jobs, school is also a place that encourages kids to socialize with others and maybe make friends. Having a Field Day at the end of the year would aid this secondary goal, giving students the opportunity to interact with their friends before leaving for summer break, college or maybe moving to a new place.

While high school allows students to have five times the number of classmates they had in elementary school, there’s also a chance they might not see their long-time friends as much if they take different classes than you. A Field Day could be an opportunity to let students mingle with their friends freely, no matter what their usual schedule is.

The idea of “third places” has become increasingly relevant in today’s society. Third places are places that aren’t someone’s home, work or school where people can socialize and have fun with each other. They are casual, social and typically have an accessible cost. In a world where it feels like third places for teenagers are hard to come by, Field Days may not provide a long-term solution, but they do give kids an extra opportunity to have fun with their friends that they may not see outside of school.

Last, and maybe most importantly, a Field Day would give kids stress-free time to interact with their classmates and maybe staff too. It can be easy to get caught up in stress all year and only associate school with negative memories, but for both the student and the school, it is important for kids like school. School is a place students should want to be. Having positive experiences, in or out of the formal academic time, could make kids think more positively of school. Aside from the benefit of a better impression of school, a stress-free day would help students move into summer with a better mood, whether they want to enjoy the break to its fullest or get a strong start at college or a new job.

Students were polled about having a Field Day, and the majority opinion was clear– 84.2 percent of students said yes, 15.8 percent answered maybe and not one person said no. In response to why they were so in favor of having a Field Day, students gave a variety of reasons.

“Field Day is good because it gives us a break from normal school work and lets us have fun outside. We get to play games, be active and hang out with our friends. It also helps us work together as a team during activities. Overall, it just makes school feel more fun and less stressful,” sophomore Diemarcie Yalala said.

Additionally, Field Days would give students a way to celebrate the end of the school year and an end goal to work hard towards.

No matter how exciting the prospect of a Field Day is, it’s important to be realistic. In order to give students a day of carefree fun, the school must rent out games and staff and students must plan activities and possibly provide food.

“It’s never been a barrier administratively, where we’ve said no or anything like that. It’s just the people who have tried to plan it, plan it too late,” Jason Pearson said.

Pearson also explained that because LSHS’ liabilities are different from elementary and middle schools, they might have different restrictions on what they can do. Where younger grades can have things like bouncy houses, the risk that comes with that might not be covered for LSHS.

A Field Day could be a possibility for the future, as long as thorough, proactive planning is involved.

Principals from middle and elementary schools in the district agree that a Field Day for high schoolers could be a good thing.

“We micromanage so much of [elementary school student’s] time on a normal school day, and they just get an hour and a half, two hours of freedom to just be where they’re going to be and make their own choices and decide what’s important and interesting to them,” Ryan Henderson, the principal at Highland Elementary, said.

Both elementary schoolers and high schoolers experience a daily schedule, and high schoolers also deserve the freedom that elementary school students are given.

“I think it would be great…You might want to have a few different activities that aren’t maybe as middle school oriented, but I think it’s a great way to finish off a school year,” Brad Abels, principal of North Lake Middle School, said.

At NLMS, there are activities like bouncy houses and sports on their field, cotton candy and other treats, a student store and different teachers hosting events in their rooms, like “Just Dance” or “Mario Kart”.

Henderson also suggested that most of the physical activities could probably stay the same.

“My brother’s a youth pastor, so I helped him put on like, several, like, events and retreats and stuff. And the games we were playing with the high schoolers there were, like, they were very hands-on…Just some of those old school physical things…like bubbles and sidewalk chalk,” Henderson said.

Imagine the walkway outside of the East Hall covered with colorful drawings by students, whether they’re intricately artistic or having fun. Henderson also mentioned that by the end of the year, teachers have taught most of what they need to, and it sometimes feels like they’re filling time.

“Why not fill time in a way that helps people connect socially…When I was in high school, I was very social, and I think that would have been a really fun thing,” Henderson said.

Whether or not LSHS hosts a Field Day in the future, there is one request that surely everyone wants to see:

“Put Mrs. Ivelia in the dunk tank,” Abels said.