Olivier Bernard, a Milam Elementary School student and the son of USASMA Class 58 international student Warrant Officer Etienne Bernard from Switzerland, prepares to catch a water balloon during the balloon toss event at the USASMA-Milam Sports Day. Photo by Sgt. Maj. Cameron Porter.
Academy organizes event to reward elementary children for prosperous year
While Milam Elementary School fifth-grade students spent much of Thursday taking their mandatory Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests, the rest of the school enjoyed a sports day organized and sponsored by Sergeants Major Course Class 58 students.
Children in kindergarten through fourth grade were bused to Biggs Park where several sports day activities awaited them, including basketball, a 50-yard dash, a water balloon toss, potato sack races and Simon Says, as well as hula-hoop and jump rope contests.
Many Class 58 students from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy volunteered as chaperones, event coordinators, judges, coaches and all-around fun facilitators while other USASMA students tackled the more serious responsibilities of on-site medical and event support.
Having the USASMA students at the event helped keep everything well organized and running a lot smoother with someone assigned to each class and more at each station, said Milam fourth-grade teacher Lori Medrano.
Kindergarten students from Milam Elementary School take a break from the fun to eat lunch during the USASMA-Milam Sports Day. Sergeants Major Course students from USASMA, who organized and sponsored the event, helped serve lunch to the children. Photo by Sgt. Maj. Cameron Porter.
“It’s made things a lot easier for me and the other school teachers,” said Medrano. “They have it all planned out, and it’s perfect.”
Master Sgt. Carleen Williams, the USASMA chairperson for the Milam Elementary School committee, came up with the idea.
Williams said about 80 USASMA students volunteered to help out at the event. The biggest obstacle, according to her, was the appropriation of buses and the costs associated with renting Biggs Park for the day.
“Luckily, the staff at Army Community Service Fort Bliss stepped in and helped out,” said Williams. “Because it is considered a Partners in Education program, or PIE, we saved about $3,000 – the cost of the buses and Biggs Park rental.”
Milam Assistant Principal John Adams thanked Williams and the other Class 58 volunteers for their efforts with Milam’s sports day.
“The school children worked hard throughout the year with their studies and this is a nice opportunity to get them out of the classrooms for the day and reward them for all their hard work,” Adams said. “It’s not easy taking care of 400 children and keeping them all entertained for more than four hours, but they did it; it was pretty impressive.”
Many Milam students enjoyed themselves, despite the absence of the fifth graders.
“Being out here at sports day is better than studying for the TAKS test – reading and reading all the time,” said Olivier Bernard, who is the son of USASMA Class 58 international student Warrant Officer Etienne Bernard from Switzerland.
“The water balloon toss was fun. I got a little wet on my shoes (from an exploding balloon), but it was funny,” Bernard said. “I’ve never done (a water balloon toss) in Switzerland.”
At the end of the day, Adams had nothing but praise for Williams and the other 80 USASMA volunteers. He said their hard work and resourcefulness made the event a complete success.
“All we had to do was make sure the children were in the right colored shirts and get them on the buses,” said Adams. “The academy students did the rest.”