By Sarah Buchert
Academic Field Day happens every year, but have you ever wondered how it happens? In an interview with Coach Lambrose, the secret of Academic Field Day is revealed: “Two things happen when we do the Academic Field Day, one is the seniors need to be leaders so I need to arrange them right and I want the seniors to be with their friends. Two is the other teammates, I just wanna spread them out among all the teams.”
But this year he “did something a little different” and he spread them out based on their language. “So we had French, German, Spanish, Greek, all of them represented on every team,” says Coach Lambrose. “The point of the teams is to get out and mingle with other students.”
He sometimes asks the senior leaders for their ideas for the formation of the teams. The sections are not put on the same team; instead, they are spread out so they are with people they do not know. Coach Lambrose says, “It’s really amazing how the younger kids love hanging with the older kids and they get to know ’em. It’s really fun that way and I really think that’s kind of nice. Plus it just takes us out of our comfort zone; we get to hang with somebody we don’t know.”
The selection of games is based on two ideas: one is what has happened in the past that the teachers liked (the humane letters game, the language game, etc.); the second is the creativity of the teachers. The teachers come up with ideas for the games. For example, Pictionary was played instead of last year’s human knot and was thought up by Mrs. Theresa Callahan. “And we just started to think about it and then we came up with a strategy for it. So it was really great that way. But most of the games are from the teachers and their creativity,” comments Coach Lambrose.
In the days before Academic Field day, Coach Lambrose collects the materials for the teachers and gives it to them to assemble. “They are there in the morn. They just go to their classroom and set it up. So it was pretty easy. It’s not hard because we all do it together. So that makes it easier, it’s not just one person.”
Academic Field Day was created when TPA wanted to do something where the whole school was involved — sixth graders to twelfth graders. “That’s where I’m pretty confident it all got started. Yes, TPA originated that, and then it’s interesting a bunch of schools copied it because they liked it so much; it’s good, it’s so much fun,” says Coach Lambrose.
“Every year since I’ve been asked to help lead it I sit down with the headmaster and we talk about the good and the not so good of the day. After it’s over we talk about, well do we really want to do this? Do we not want to do this again next year?” says Coach Lambrose.
He has given a survey to the teachers in the past, asking them for their opinions of Academic Field day and they always want to do it. “They like it a lot,” he said, “and I think one of the things we have to realize, it’s really kind of a good break in the first semester. To stop with the academics. You know how we are studying pretty hard, finals are coming up. It’s kind of nice just to stop and just have an all-school event where we hang out together, no homework, no classes, and really just play the whole day.”
“I think Academic Field day will always be on the calendar until the teachers say, yeah, let’s not do it,” Coach Lambrose says. “Cause we always communicate, we always talk about it, I always try to get input from them. But I think Academic Field day is here to stay.”