Students, Staff Relish Successful SY2025-26 Field Day

On Aug. 29, School Without Walls students participated in Field Day on the Lincoln Memorial fields. Staff members such as Assistant Principal Turner and Heather Pultz encouraged students to arrive wearing their class colors and engage in a variety of games and activities. Furthermore, Pultz stated, “I thought kids were enjoying themselves; everyone seemed happy, safe, and social.” Field Day was designed to make students feel connected to their grade and have fun activities to start out the beginning of the school year.  This is an event that is hosted annually by The School Without Walls to honor all grade levels and welcome the freshmen class through an assortment of activities. 

 At the Lincoln Memorial, many participated in soccer, volleyball, and football games. In addition, many viewed this as a time to spend with friends or contribute to the School Without Walls yearbook. Maison Bonelli (‘29) stated, “The activities were fun, we just didn’t participate in them.” 

 Hazel Robin Lerner (‘27) stated, “I got to do a volleyball circle and see all my friends.” Many took it upon themselves to start games that weren’t originally there or had too many people since it was very casual. 

Although many resorted to their own interests on this occasion, Maison Bonelli (‘29) claimed, “there wasn’t structure,” provided by the school. 

As for grade representation, there were many discussions during and after field day among students regarding which class color was the most dominant. Considering Field Day was not a guarantee at all Middle Schools many students had lingering thoughts about it. Bonelli (‘29) said, “The sophomores were best represented because I could tell who was wearing red.” Lila Noti (‘28) agreed by saying, “most people wore red.” Since red was a noticeable color in comparison to other classes, the presence of the sophomore class felt more visible. 

There were many steps taken to properly organize and prepare for Field Day. Many staff members collaborated prioritizing the interests of the students during this process. Katherine Pultz acknowledged the participation of staff members by stating, “Mr. Smith, Mr, Henning, and myself attended meetings.” During these meetings there would be discussion of what role supporting staff members could play when assisting Assistant Principal Turner. However, when addressing the organization of this event Robinlerner (‘27) mentioned, “I didn’t know there were planned activities.”

Pultz further recognized Assistant Principal Turner during this time by saying she was “the lead.” Pultz also said Assistant Principal Turner was also responsible for, “permitting and making sure there were supplies and stations.” 

Cory Matthews, a longtime Walls physical education teacher who moved schools after last school year, was used as guidance for the activity planning section. “I provided a template of field day events from the past, maps of location, directions to the field, and sample timing/placement of events,” he said. 

Matthews added that he “enjoyed the ownership and buy-in that our teachers had in this year's Welcome Back Field Day. I miss you all and will forever have SWW in my heart!” 

Reflecting on the entirety of Field Day, Pultz was satisfied with the event. She said, “kids were bonding, meeting new friends, and seeing friends they hadn’t seen over the summer.”