ALTON - Alton Community Unit School District #11 fifth grade students came together for a field day.
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On Thursday, April 30, 2026, fifth graders from three elementary schools were bused to West Stadium at West Elementary School for the first field day in years. The goal, explained Alton Middle School Athletic Director Scott Harper, was to provide students with a fun activity while introducing them to one another before they enter middle school in the fall.
“We’re trying to create a fun day for them, most importantly, but also draw a connection to the elementaries into the middle school and our athletic program,” Harper said.
The fifth grade field day used to be a cherished tradition in Alton, but Superintendent Elaine Kane noted that “many years, maybe even decades” have passed since the last one. Instead, each elementary building has held their own field days in recent years.
But Harper and his team decided to bring back the tradition this year by combining these events, with the hopes of uniting students as they prepare to go into middle school. Students from East, West and North Elementary Schools came together to compete in track and field events, including the running long jump, 800-meter race, and 4x100 relay among others.
The middle school track coaches and gym teachers oversaw these events and encouraged the students to push their athletic abilities. Harper noted that this field day might also inspire a few of the students to pursue track and field at the middle school level.
Kane thanked the parents, teachers and administrators who volunteered to help during the field day. She shared that many Alton alumni remember the field day from when they were students, and so a lot of people were eager to be a part of serving snacks, monitoring kids, and overseeing events.
“There’s a nostalgic factor here, which I think motivated a lot of the adults to add one more thing to their busy plate,” Kane said. “We’re letting kids meet their future classmates for Alton Middle School.”
The event was off to a positive start on Thursday morning, with kids introducing themselves to one another, playing games, and cheering their classmates on. Harper and Kane agreed that this revived tradition will likely continue in the future, and they look forward to continuing to build a culture of belonging for students at the middle school level and beyond.
“We’re in the same district, and so they’ll come together next year as sixth graders,” Harper said. “This brings them together and will hopefully build that bridge into next year.”
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