In the beautiful June weather, a bus full of National Honors Society members waits patiently in the GHS parking lot to begin their day of fun at Bartlett’s end of year field day. Eager to spend their day in the sun, the students crack open the windows and talk about the quickly approaching summer. Then, as they arrive at the field, they see the swarms of color coded classes approaching the field. After excitedly forming groups and being assigned stations, it’s time for the Bartlett students to have their field day fun.

On June 7th, about 40 NHS students volunteered at Sarette Field to help Bartlett staff and parents organize a plethora of summer activities for their kids. For four hours on that Thursday afternoon, everyone had fun competing for records in shoe kicks, long jumps, potato sack races, and many more activities. Groups of NHS students timed and judged each grade level, watching kids come back over and over to set their own record among their classmates. However, the fun wasn’t exclusive to the elementary schoolers. Watching kids compete and working with them to make their day more enjoyable was the real reward for NHS members. That competitive nature doesn’t dissipate after elementary levels, either. That determination and drive is what gets students into clubs like National Honors Society, so these young students working so hard to achieve greatness – even if it is just in a potato sack race – is what can make or break their school experience. Similarly, after a long year of hard work and dedication to their education, our group of driven students got to take a day off to help a neighboring school have a great time together.

Out of the numerous volunteering opportunities provided to students throughout the year, this activity was one of the most exciting and rewarding. The impact NHS has made on GHS is quite apparent, but this event allowed members to reach farther into their community. Becoming a friend and a helper to so many children was the best way NHS could have ended their year together. Hopefully we can visit again next year, for a new group of students and another day of fun.