HIGHLAND - St. Paul Catholic School in Highland recently hosted their annual Baseball Day to build the school’s sense of community.
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Abbey McGinley, a kindergarten teacher, explained that she did a Baseball Day at her previous school and decided to bring the tradition to St. Paul. The eighth grade students played baseball against the teachers while younger students provided entertainment between innings.
“What kid doesn't love the Cardinals?” McGinley said. “It’s just a way to bring community to our school and welcome spring.”
The “junior kindergartners” sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and a few teachers and office staff members raced against students in an obstacle course while wearing giant inflatable costumes. Students and teachers won prizes from mystery boxes. Students also competed in a speed pitch contest.
But the main event was the four-inning baseball game between the teachers and eighth graders. McGinley’s son played this year, and the entire school was excited when the students beat their teachers.
The event, McGinley emphasized, is simply “a fun day for the kids” to celebrate springtime and the baseball season. She is pleased that St. Paul has picked up on the Baseball Day tradition, partly because her son is a huge baseball fan and she wanted to do something fun for him. McGinley has organized Baseball Day every year since she started teaching at St. Paul three years ago.
She also noted that the school is divided into houses “kind of like Harry Potter,” so students participated with their house group. This builds community, McGinley believes, by encouraging the students to form connections with each other.
“They get to know all the big kids and the little kids, and it makes the big kids kind of step up,” she explained. “And then the little kids think it’s cool, because they know a big kid.”
As the school year comes to a close, McGinley hopes the students will remember the fun of Baseball Day and be ready for another great experience next spring. She is proud to be a part of St. Paul Catholic School and hopeful that the Baseball Day event and similar activities will continue to build the school’s community and culture.
“That’s one thing I love about the school,” she added. “It’s like a big family.”
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