Willis Elementary hosts annual field day

By Liz Ramos
| 11:00 a.m. May 10, 2024

Fifth grader Alex Kulyk tries his best to get as much water in fifth grader Benjamin Rodriguez's bucket while fifth grader Alina Matevosova waits her turn.

East County
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Carson Calasans, a fourth grader at Robert E. Willis Elementary School, and his mother, Liz Calasans, spent time at home the night before the school's annual Field Day practicing their water balloon toss skills.

"It was not pretty," Carson Calasans said of their practice time.

"Cleaning up was not as much fun," Liz Calasans said with a laugh.

The Calasans were hopeful their time spent practicing would lead to positive results at the water balloon toss station during the event on May 10.

The water balloon toss was one of seven activities.

Three of the stations involved water, leading to students being soaked before having to return to the classroom.

Fifth grader Aubri Darpino was drenched in water after participating in the water bucket competition. She decided to show her mom, Courtni Darpino, who is a student support specialist, some love with a wet hug.

"I'm going to get you wet," Aubri Darpino said leaving splotches of water on Courtni Darpino's shirt.

Field day was bittersweet for the Darpinos as it was Aubri Darpino's last since she'll be moving to middle school next school year.

Fourth graders Gianna Boccaccio and Natalia Zasada, who have been friends since second grade, are twinning. They didn't plan to wear matching outfits.

Fifth grader Norton Lincoln dumps water into Alexandra Marcus' bucket, but most of the water hit the ground instead.

Fourth grader Carson Calasans and his mother, Liz Calasans, say they've been practicing water balloon tosses at home to prepare for field day. "It was not pretty," Carson Calasans says of practicing at home.

Fifth grader Aubri Darpino hugs her mother, Courtni Darpino, the student support specialist. "I'm going to get you wet," Aubri Darpino says after being drenched in water during an activity.

Students are ready to test their tossing skills in a water balloon toss.

Ffith grader Landon Finch tosses a water balloon to his partner after a successful catch. Unfortunately, the water balloon popped, and they were out of the competition.

Fifth grader Jelena Konatar moves the hula-hoop through her body after getting it from fifth grader Miranda Villalobos.

Fourth grader Graham Lough tries his best to make it to the end to keep his team going in the bouncy ball relay. "It was funny," Lough says of the race.

Students race against each other in a bouncy ball race. It's harder than it looks as students fell trying to keep their balance on the ball.

Fourth graders Nick Gelsomine, Sohe Delfino, Sofia Velez, Daniela Boscan and Moreland Riggenbach play tic-tac-toe.

Fifth grader Kayla Walsh runs as fast as she can to squeeze water from her sponge into the bucket. Her team placed second.

Students get ready for the start of the sponge relay race.

Fourth graders line up to try to get as much water from bucket to bucket. Most of the water ended up on the students.

Fourth graders Lara Tavares and Ava Gilbank try to capture as much water from Mhiia Serrato without getting wet.

Katie Fradley, the assistant principal, and Colleen Laughlin get their photo taken with Raymond from the Tampa Bay Rays.

author

Liz Ramos

Managing Editor Liz Ramos previously covered education and community for the East County Observer. Before moving to Florida, Liz was an education reporter for the Lynchburg News & Advance in Virginia for two years after graduating from the Missouri School of Journalism.