LENOX, Mass. — As the school year winds down, the sun was shining high as Morris Elementary School and the community celebrated student success with a splash. 

 

The elementary school held its annual Field Day on Friday, inviting the community to join in the fun. 

 

About 50 parent/volunteers, along with members of the Police Department, helped students shake off the stress of the school year with a variety of games, activities, and popsicles.

 

With temperatures reaching the low 80s, students welcomed the heat by taking part in several water games and cooling off under the Fire Department's ladder truck, which showered them with water from above.

 

The event demonstrates the welcoming, supportive, kind, and encouraging atmosphere of the community, said Maureen Kennedy, the physical education teacher, who spearheaded the planning of the event. 

 

"The whole community steps up. This could not happen without our parent volunteers, all of our teachers, both classroom teachers and support staff. It's just everyone. It takes a village, and this is the best village to be a part of," she said. 

 

The day featured a variety of activities and festivities, including hamburgers and hot dogs served by the Fire Department, a Rubik's Cube relay, Hungry Hungry Hippos, an inflatable obstacle course, a bounce house, and the annual faculty-versus-fifth-grade kickball game.

 

"They worked really hard to have fun, because I like how often you get the fire truck to spray water on you," fifth-grader Sammi Simonelli said. 

 

"We were really nervous [during testing] and this just completely erases the nervous feelings." 

 

After working hard on assignments throughout the year and taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test, field day was a refreshing conclusion to the year, students said. 

 

"I'm really thankful for our School Committee, and how lucky we are to have this school. It’s really good, and have a bunch of fun things," fifth-grader Grace Allen said. 

 

"It's not just like work, be quiet, work be quiet — it's better than that." 

 

By the end of the year the progress the students have made is visible, from the youngest students learning foundational skills to the older grades completing research projects and exploring coding and technology, Principal Brenda Kelley said. 

 

"It's just them celebrating everybody's hard work and perseverance throughout the school year," she said. 

 

These young learners have many years ahead of them but elementary school faculty hope days like this will serve as a lasting memory. 

 

This hope is a reality for some of the district's seniors, a few of whom returned to their alma mater as part of the Kindness Crew, to concluded their local educational journey with the district where they began. 

 

"They're done with their classes, and this is a great way to loop back around to how they started in the Lenox Public Schools, and really [remembering that] feeling of joy that they had while at Morris," Assistant Principal Holly Soules said. 

 

Many members of the Kindness Crew said they have fond memories of participating in Field Day as elementary school students, Kelley said. 

 

The event gives the Fire Department the opportunity to interact with the next generation while giving staff a break from the normal routine, Fire Chief Robert Casucci said. 

 

It also introduces the students to the department in the hopes they will one day choose to volunteer, he said.