By Tyler Julson

Gloomy weather couldn’t stop the students of Hawthorne Elementary School from enjoying a fun day outside on their last day of school before summer break.

Tuesday marked the school’s annual field day, where a part of the day is set aside for the students to get outside and burn energy on the final day of school. Ten different stations filled the yard outside of the school, supervised by faculty, as well as volunteer parents. The many different games and activities at each station provided a way for the kids to keep engaged even on the last day of school.

Jeff Groth, the school’s physical education teacher and field day organizer, talked about how important it is for the kids to have a day like this at the end of the year.

“It’s so awesome for them to have this kind of a day,” Groth said. “We were a little nervous because of the weather, but it was much needed. It’s the end of the school year, kids are riled up and ready to go for the summer. It’s really nice that we have this day for them.”

Split into two groups, the kindergarten through second-graders spent the morning outside, followed by the third- through fifth-graders in the afternoon. The students were separated into their homeroom groups and spent eight to 10 minutes at each station. This year, stations included chalk art, individual and relay races, as well as this year’s big hit, inflatable beach volleyball, and many more.

Not only do the children love the field day events, it’s also a great day for the teachers to relax and finish their end of the year duties.

Second-grade teacher Pam Jacobsen doesn’t look at it as a school day. She sees it as a good way to spend some quality fun time with her students.

“It gives us as teachers a little bit of structure on the last day,” Jacobsen said. “We’ve already put away books, we’re done with our curriculum, report cards are done. For me it’s a nice time to spend with my kids just having fun.”

Jacobsen was thankful to the volunteers who came out and helped to organize and supervise the event. She said it takes a lot of extra help to organize a day like this, and it wouldn’t have been possible without all of the extra support from faculty and parents.

“I just give a ton of thanks to the volunteers that came out on a day like this and make this happen,” Jacobsen said. “By the last day we’re all off schedule, so this is just a great special event to end the year.”