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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Kindergarteners participated in Austintown Elementary School's annual Fun Day May 15.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Kindergarten students participated in the firemans relay May 15 at the schools annual Fun Day celebration.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Students at Austintown Elementary School competed in a potatoe sack race during the schools kindergarten Fun Day May 15.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Austintown Elementary School kindergarten students drew with chalk during the classes Fun Day May 15.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Kindergarten students at AES played with hullahoops during their annual Fun Day celebration May 15 outside of the school.
By JESSICA HARKER
Austintown Elementary School celebrated the end of the school year with their annual fun day starting on May 15.
Each grade was separated into their own day, starting with kindergarten on Wednesday.
“This event is a school tradition that’s been handed down,” said event organizer Jennifer Cooley.
She explained that the day was split up into 16 events, for the 16 classes in each grade.
Cooley said that each class cycled through the different games, spending 15 minutes at each.
“It’s just a fun way for the classes to celebrate the end of the school year,” Cooley said.
A number of the games return year after year, Cooley said, including a number of water games.
Bounce houses from Austintown Bounce are also present at the event. Other games included tug-of-war, freeze dance, hula hooping and bubble breaking.
Students also stop twice to take a break and enjoy treats, one break of snow cones and one of ice cream sandwiches.
“We have so many volunteers, about 40,” Cooley said. “We are so grateful for the work that they put in for the students.”
Cooley said as a way to say thank you the volunteers are organized so each parent gets to see their child at two different stations.
“As the PTA we really focus on giving back to the students,” Cooley said. “This event doesn’t cost the students a dime.”
Along with the day’s events, students wore matching T-shirts, which were different colors for the different grades.
Cooley said that the fun day tradition was something that the smaller elementary schools did before they combined five years ago.
“It was easier then, but we make it work with a much larger number of students,” Cooley said.