Students celebrate the start of vacation
<p>Teachers and students filled the high school football field for the annual end of the year event last week.</p>
HOT SPRINGS – Hot Springs high school held its penultimate day of the school year last week and students were in for a treat.
For the third year in a row the school held a faculty vs. staff water balloon fight to mark the approaching summer vacation.
Before the water balloons started flying, students filed into the school’s gymnasium where teachers handed out a variety of awards to mark students successes and experiences throughout the school year.
One of the students recognized during the awards ceremony was seventh grader Sydney Jackson for her achievements in the Archery in School program.
In the state competition, featuring boys and girls in both high school and junior high school, Jackson scored 262 of 300 points to finish sixth in the state.
Additionally, Jackson was the state’s top junior high school shooter.
Hot Springs Superintendent Kevin Meredith awarded Jackson a compound bow for her achievements.
At the start of the ceremony Meredith urged the students to take part in the clean up effort following the water balloon fight, noting they had done a very good job contributing to the clean up in the past two years of the event.
“You guys have been really good in the past. Let’s keep that going,” Meredith said.
Shortly before the students and faculty members filed down to the school’s football field where buckets of loaded water balloons awaited them, Hot Springs Athletic Director Chris Clairmont took a moment to recognize the superintendent.
Meredith will be heading to Plains High School, where he will serve as principal and Clairmont used this time to show his appreciation towards the work the superintendent put in at Hot Springs schools.
The students gave Meredith a round of applause as the awards ceremony concluded.
During the water balloon fight each class, with grades 7-11 in attendance, had their own bucket of balloons to utilize.
The groups picked their spots across the football field as the teachers formed up at the center of the field at the 40-yard line.
An announcer announced the start of competition as students and teachers ran amok and water balloons flied from all directions.
It was hard to tell who won the water balloon fight but all of the participants were thoroughly drenched at the conclusion of the staff and student contest.