Photo By Staff Sgt. James Avery | Staff Sgt. Edward Garibay, vice president of the El Paso chapter of the Sergeant Audie...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas – In the early morning hours of June 6, Schuster Elementary School students took to the playground, laughing and jumping up and down with smiles on their faces for their annual field day at the end of the school year.
Their grins got even bigger when they saw the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club and other Soldiers from Fort Bliss waiting to join them for a morning of fun and games.
Students were put into groups of 12 or less, and with a blast from a bullhorn that could be heard all across the field, the days’ events began. The children were welcomed with high-fives by the Soldiers, then, the second, third and fourth-graders were led in games such as horseshoes, tug-of-war, volleyball, mini golf and potato-sack races. There was also a variation of soccer played with an oversized ball as tall as some of the children.
While some Soldiers taught students how to throw a horseshoe for a dead ringer, other Soldiers had the children hit miniature tennis balls into colorful plastic buckets with toy golf clubs. All the while, Soldiers raced alongside school children in potato-sacks and took turns playing a one-on-one variation of tug-of-war where competitors tried to pull each other off small, square, foam pads.
Coach Lalena Flores, the physical education teacher, said the students loved interacting with the Soldiers and really enjoyed the field day, especially when the Soldiers started playing along beside them.
“The students bloom a little bit more when they have these adults and heroes here playing games with them,” said Flores. “That makes a huge difference.”
After about 10 minutes of play, Flores set off another siren on the megaphone. The groups of children changed stations, and the fun started again.
The event was organized by the school with the help of the SAMC as part of the Partners In Education Program, established to strengthen the bond between Fort Bliss and El Paso communities.
Flores called upon the SAMC, their partners in education, when she saw how much work needed to be done to make field day a dream come true for the students. She said she realized she didn’t have enough staff to cover all the stations and, therefore, reached out to the club. With the Soldiers help, there were enough people to make sure the games were being safely supervised and the Soldiers could join in the games as well.
“The SAMC was a huge help,” said Flores. “Having the kids see us all work together as a team has a huge impact. They see that you can help someone and not expect anything in return.”
While it was a great experience for the students, Soldiers also enjoyed interacting with the children. One such soldier, Pfc. Devin Jones, assigned to the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, said that he enjoys mentoring children and that he would continue to volunteer at events like this.
“We’re being role models for the kids,” said Jones, smiling and looking over his shoulder toward the soccer field. “They don’t just look at us as Soldiers, but as people too. If I had this kind of opportunity when I was a kid, it would have boosted my self-esteem.”
“We love that the Soldiers are here,” said Nancy Collins, a second-grade teacher who has been teaching at the school for 23 years. “The kids see them as heroes.”
With one final blast from Flores’s bullhorn, signaling an end to the activities, the students lined up to go inside the cafeteria for lunch. Many children waved and some even hugged the Soldiers.
As they filed inside, the students started chanting, quietly at first, and then louder, “You’re our heroes; thank you, Soldiers.”
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2014 14:48 |
| Story ID: | 133859 |
| Location: | EL PASO, US |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Soldiers seen as role models at local field day, by SSG James Avery, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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