Commentary by Melanie Wang

It is probably fair to say that going into Field Day last week, there were two general sentiments circulating around school. Sentiment #1: Field Day was a miracle, allowing the student population to not only waste an entire school day, but to also dress in loud primary colors and express our Warrior pride. Sentiment #2: Field Day was a waste of time and energy. This second sentiment is the likely reason for the unusual number of absences, but those who did show up were treated to Wayland High’s first-ever incarnation of a tradition sure to continue.

Students spent the day with their homerooms, each participating in five different activities against other homerooms of different grades. Song recognition, Wii tennis, family feud, karaoke, kickball and trivia were among the competitions. A popular favorite was Coke and Pepsi, a bizarre version of Simon Says run by Student Council VP Stef Scari, which involved participants running back and forth across the emptied Commons. Other activities were deemed “boring,” or “pointless,” by participants, who were often just annoyed at losing.

At the end of the day, this new school event proved to be a success. Field Day finished off with a school-wide pep rally in the courtyard, with students arranged in a rainbow of their class colors. The cheerleaders and band both performed to a crowd of green, blue, red, and of course, orange and black.

The class of 2010 was deemed most spirited, due to their wild red apparel and general noisiness. The Field Day trophy was awarded to the senior class, though juniors whispered rumors of unfair play. A mere twenty points separated ‘09 from ‘10. At the end of it all, school ended three hours early, and students took the rest of the day to start their Thanksgiving vacations.

School is about learning; it is a basic requirement that every day spent on high school grounds, no matter how short, should be a day of learning. What one learns is anyone’s guess–it might be facts, it might be skills, it might be life lessons. All this begs the question: What did we learn on Field Day? (Those of us who showed up, that is.)

We learned that school spirit is less about activities than it is about simple participation. If you went into Field Day not caring about Field Day, you probably still didn’t care about it once all was said and done. The class rivalries, face paint, varsity jackets, and Pep Band songs didn’t mean a thing to those of you who didn’t  care or chose to be absent that day. It was just another day of school. But if, for any reason at all, you consider yourself a Warrior at heart, Field Day was the kind of spirit-infused day you’ll remember long past graduation. We look forward to making it a tradition.