Despite the cold and windy weather on Friday March 17th, the Rocky Mount Academy campus celebrated it’s Field Day with students, staff and parents. The day kicked off at 8:15 when the older buddies went to their little buddies classroom to greet them and walk to the gym together for the opening ceremony. The gym was packed with excited students ready for the events of the day to begin. The Pre-K and Kindergarten classes (along with their buddies) led the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by the National Anthem performed by four upper school girls: Vivian Rogers, Anna Scott Wingfield, Madison Davis and Anna Penwell. Each grade had a certain spot on the bleachers and were able to be distinguished between because of their team colors!

Now it was time for the games to begin! Announced by the voice you can hear announcing football games in the fall, Ronnie Beddingfield, the first competition was the hula hoop challenge. Two grades and their buddies were lined up across the gym holding hands and were racing to see who could pass 5 hula hoops down the line (without letting go of their hands) first. After each grade competed, Lower School observed and cheered as the high schoolers played Tug-O-War. In the end, the sophomores were victorious. Middle school was dismissed to the cafeteria where they could purchase Chick-fil-A biscuits. Lower school participated in three races, the first of which was the Tater Tote. For this race, each grade split into two teams and students had to hold a potato on a spoon and race down and back. Next up was the Jiggity Jig in which lower schoolers bounced on playground balls down and back, also a race of course! Lastly was the Rainbow Run which was a simple foot race but happened to be many students favorite race as they love to show off their speed. Third grader John Thomas Wingfield stated, “The Rainbow Run was my favorite because I like running!” There is no doubt that these students had a blast at their field day and will always remember the time spent with their classmates and buddies.

Following the lower school races, the middle school students who had so patiently watched and cheered on the younger students had their turn and participated in three relay races. First was the St. Patricks Day Plunger Pass followed by the Shamrock Shuffle and the classic Tug-O-War.

While the lower schoolers were participating in relays in the gym, the high school students were playing the RMAmazing race which was planned and organized by the yearbook staff. Similar to the television show from which it was named after, students were randomly organized into teams and given their first clue after fueling up in the cafeteria with Chick-Fil-A biscuits. Their clue was a four-line riddle leading them to a location on campus where they would have to complete a task to receive their next clue. The locations included the grassy area in the front of the school, the sandpit which use to be a playground, the courtyard, Josh’s place, the softball field, the baseball field and the football field. Some of the tasks included an egg race, obstacle course, tennis ball pass, human knot and other teambuilding exercises. As it was a race, there was a final destination with a treasure chest for the team who reached it first. The last clue every team was given was a riddle which, when thought out, would have led them to Ms. Covolo’s office where the treasure was underneath her desk. The blue team reached it first (closely followed by the green team) and each member was awarded an RMA cup, pencil, candy, clip, skip the lunch line pass and free long lunch or Fun Friday pass. Blue team captain Rachel Scott Dunn remarked upon their win, “I must say the games were pretty tough but the blue team was not going to quit. We gave it 110%, every one of us broke a sweat. There was no walking or jogging, strictly sprinting. That is how the blue team came out with the victory.”