A sea of pink, purple, orange, green and blue shirts filled the field, affectionally called the flat, in front of Florence Rideout Elementary School on Thursday to celebrate the school’s annual field day.
Each grade donned their color-coordinated shirts before coming to school to participate in stations involving kickball, volleyball, water balloons, art, “squeaky chickens,” and playing in the water provided by the Wilton Fire Department, which is a favorite station among the kids.
After lunch, the festivities continued with a class-versus-class tug-of-war, where students competed for pride, but everyone earned ice cream in the end. The event finished with the anticipated “teacher’s revenge,” when teachers showered their students with water balloons.
Volunteers for the event include parents, grandparents and older siblings. Sarah Leach, a parent of a second grader, said she has volunteered for the last seven years.
“It’s really cute to see the kids having a good time. That’s why I like to come,” Leach said, while manning the bubble station.
Megaphone in hand, Rebecca “Becky” Raymond, president of the PTO committee and parent of two students at FRES, made sure students and volunteers knew where to go and when. This is Raymond’s third time hosting the field day, and she said she looks forward to it every year.
Originally from Nashua, Raymond said she enjoys the town’s closeness and how everyone knows each other. “That’s why I love the small community.”
Raymond said she feels extremely grateful for the around 30 volunteers who help organize the field day, the first responders who always participate and the school’s collaboration. She said the T-shirts this year were sponsored by 11 local businesses, and community members let the school borrow canopy tents and a grill for lunch.
“I couldn’t do it without the school input, and I really hope everyone just has fun and stays safe, too,” Raymond said.
In addition to the field day, the FRES PTO also hosts skate nights, bingo nights, a penny war, Scholastic book fairs and a readathon. Their final event was a face-off between the fifth graders and Wilton first responders in a kickball tournament on Friday.
