Field Day festivities continue at home

The quarantine caused by the coronavirus didn’t stop students in Emerson from participating in its annual Field Day festivities. About 500 families from both Memorial and Villano Schools took part in a virtual Field Day.

“I honestly was overwhelmed with the amount of students and families that participated, and I am so glad so many of them actually did. Super excited!” Frankin Tiburcio, the elementary physical teacher, said.

Tiburcio organized this year’s Field Day because he wanted to do something for his students. He heard the organization OPEN was hosting a national Field Day and thought it was a good opportunity. OPEN is the Online Physical Education Network. Its goal is to keep students active during school closures with online activities. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy closed all public and private schools on March 13 due to concerns about COVID-19. 

“I really thought that the idea of having a national Field Day is very interesting because it was just as fun participating in the day,” Aruwyn Conner said.

Connor, a fifth-grader, thought the virtual day had a lot to offer. The virtual activity list included a Penguin Race, Sock-er Skee-Ball, Backboard Bank it, Paper Plane Corn Hole, and Scavenger Hunt. Students completed activities either alone or with family members. Then, students recorded their progress on a scorecard, took photos or videos, and posted those to a Google Classroom.

“All of the activities were provided by the OPEN organization. They made it very convenient and practical for all schools to apply their program.”