The water balloon toss was supposed to be just part of the competition at the ninth annual Roosevelt School Fun Day, which is held at the end of each school year.
But with the temperatures Wednesday hovering near 95, clearly the hottest day to date in 2004, the competition was tossed aside for the sake of simply having fun.
And the water balloon toss became an all-out water assault, with kids, teachers, aides, parents, what have you.
“It was like a block party,” said Grace Mancini Rodriguez, the president of the Roosevelt School Parent-Teacher Organization that organized and sponsored the “Fun Day” event. “It felt like a carnival. The kids really deserved it. They work hard all year and just let loose for the day. They really enjoyed themselves and loved it.”
“They all loved getting wet,” said basic skills teacher Julia Barone, who coordinated the event, along with physical education teacher Joe Perez. “It was the hottest day, so everyone just wanted to get wet. It was great to see. They really enjoyed themselves.”
The Fun Day ceremonies used to be a school-wide competition, an Olympics of sorts, complete with students running, jumping and performing athletic feats for medals.
But two years ago, Roosevelt School Principal Anthony LaBruno decided, with the help of the Fun Day Committee, that having a competition between the students wasn’t the best idea.
“We wanted to make it a little less competitive and a lot more fun,” LaBruno said. “We played up the idea that it was fun more than anything else. We did away with the competition side.”
So this year, there were carnival games that were brought in for the children to participate in, like a baseball speed pitch machine, that clocked how fast the ball was being thrown, a la Roger Clemens or Randy Johnson. There was the water balloon race, where contestants are firing a water gun into the mouth of a clown in order to pop the balloon and win prizes.
“Plus, what carnival doesn’t have popcorn and cotton candy?” Rodriguez said. “We had to have those things. It was perfect for them. We envisioned what made the kids happy and we brought it all in.”
With other funds collected by the PTO, each student was presented with a bag pack to commemorate the day.
“The children really appreciated it,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez was also able to round up the services of approximately 25 parents who volunteered their time to help out and run the games and activities.
“The parents really come through with everything we do,” Rodriguez said. “They’re really supportive. They made sure we had everything we needed. They took the time off from work to make sure everything went well. I’m so proud of our parents. They helped to make it an amazing day. It was worth all the time and effort we put into it.”
LaBruno said that the Fun Day was a fitting way to close out the school year.
“The kids do a lot of hard work during the course of the year,” LaBruno said. “They really deserve a day like this. I’m happy we changed the format. The kids really had a lot of fun.”
Barone said that her reward came in the form of a handful of letters and a host of smiles.
“One of the classes wrote me and thanked me, saying that they had a great time,” Barone said. “Everyone wanted to be a part of the day. Once I got to see their smiles, it was worth it.”