Field Day

 Each spring since 1st grade, our boys have participated in an elementary school Field Day, competing against other area Lutheran schools. This year they were old enough to attend the more competitive middle school Field Day, also for area Lutheran schools. Both boys were very excited about competing.

The students chose to participate in various track events as well as academic tests. Cody took part in 6 events-- 2 academic tests (Bible Knowledge and Math) and 4 track/field events (high jump, 100M, soccer kick, and 400M relay). Cody didn't have much prior experience doing high jump, but he did quite well! Aside from what it appears in these first photos, Cody truly did learn the correct form for high jump. Ha! This jump was his last-ditch effort after failing to clear the bar on his prior jump. He saw a friend jumping this way and thought he'd give it a try. Needless to say, it wasn't successful, but it sure made for a cool photo!

Here are some of Cody's other jumps. He ended up placing 3rd with a jump of 3'8".

For the soccer kick, Cody had to kick the ball into a ring. He was awarded points for how close to the center of the ring the ball stopped. Cody got 5th place for this event.

Cody won 1st place for his heat in the 100M race, so he qualified for finals in this event. Woo-hoo, Cody!

Jaden also participated in 6 events-- 3 academic tests (Spelling, Math, and Bible Knowledge) and 3 track/field events (100M, 400M relay, and tug-of-war). The tug-of-war was actually a fluke thing for Jaden, as he wasn't signed up for this event. We just happened to be walking by when the Salem 5th grade team was getting ready to compete, and they were missing a teammate. They begged Jaden to stand in for the other teammate, and he (somewhat hesitantly) agreed. The team competed three times in the little bracket and won a third place ribbon. Jaden ended up saying this event was one of his favorites! The team definitely fought hard!

Jaden also ran the 100M but ran in a different heat than Cody. He also won 1st place for his heat and qualified for the finals. Yay, Jaden!!

The 100M finals took place later that morning. Four boys total from Salem ended up qualifiying for finals--what a fast class they are! The 100M finals was a very close race.

Jaden and Cody crossed the finish line at a very similar time, but Cody just barely eked out 3rd place, and Jaden was awarded 4th. They ran well!

The boys' last event was the 400M relay with two of their 5th grade buddies. I didn't get a video of the race since I was down on the field near the finish line, but their team won an easy 1st place!

Cody ran the first leg of the race, so I got a few photos of him starting off. Jaden ran third and maintained his team's strong lead.

In addition to their track/field ribbons, the boys also placed in their academic events. Cody got 2nd place in Bible knowledge and 6th in math. Jaden got 1st in spelling, 4th in math, and another 4th in Bible knowledge. Both boys sure competed well! Most of all, even though it was a boiling HOT day, the boys enjoyed the day off normal classwork and liked hanging out with their friends. What a fun event!