McCallion
Quest

Everyone has a responsibility to Track and Field week

By: Corina Kibsey 

          Hazel McCallion is an excellent school and those who attend it are extremely fortunate. Not all schools in our area have so many extra-curricular activities that they can participate in.  

One of those is the Track and Field week, affectionately called “Olympic Week” by staff and students. In this track and field week, all classes put together teams and compete against all other classes in their grade levels. Each class selects representatives to participate in events like the shot put, long jump, triple jump, and high jump, and the usual array of track events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and the marathon). During this week, every night after school, classes send their athletes to compete.

Sadly, last year Olympic week was cancelled. This decision was made because the Phys. Ed. Teachers (Mr. Koruna and Ms. Colman) found that the sport representatives from each class were not doing their job properly or responsibly, and that the general population was not ‘into’ participating. “The sport reps were not filling out the sign-up sheets or handing them in on time”, said Ms. Colman.  

The decision to cancel the events was a shock and many in the school, who had grown to expect the event, were left to wonder if we’d ever have it again. 

“Hopefully,” said Ms. Colman. “If the sport reps do their jobs, and hand the sign-up sheets in on time, then we will be able to hold these events”. That sounded promising. 

So what can we students do to make sure that the events are not cancelled once again? They can ensure that their sport reps are on top of things and that they fill out the sign up sheets. Students should also write the dates for their event in their Binder Reminder, so as not to forget them. The students must remember when their event is; make plans for getting home on that day. This will ensure that students show up for their event. 

Track and Field tournaments, just like many of the other extra curricular sports we have at Hazel provide us with an excellent opportunity to show our skills, to work hard, and to learn new things. Most importantly, the athletic events we enjoy are essentially designed so that we can have fun and enjoy ourselves. However, last years cancellation showed us that we at Hazel are a little spoiled with all the clubs and opportunities we get. Sometimes, we take advantage and expect them to be run, even when we students don’t do the little jobs we have. We can’t take this for granted. Teachers and students all share in the responsibility of these events taking place. With a little help from everybody, we can make sure that our tournaments will still occur and that they will be successful and fun for all. 

Post script- The Track and Field week went off beautifully this year. All classes participated and many classes received full participation points, meaning that every competitor for their class showed up to every event that they were signed up for. This year, everyone handled their own responsibility and the event went beautifully. Here’s hoping that Hazel never loses the number of experiences that they are offered.