As fast as speeding soccer ball – the school calendar

It's hard to believe the new school year begins on Monday; it feels like Bill's third grade year just ended. Staff especially spent the last week of school exuberant but exhausted. On Field Day in May, all 500-some International Community School students and staff took over the enormous grassy field at the Clarkston Community Center, for what many said was the best Field Day in ICS history.

Years of tie-dying in parent Marney Mayo's garage had paid off: Looking out over the sea of students and staff, it seemed she had outfitted the whole school. Kindergarten teacher Edna Wright joined her students in a sack race. Music teacher Rebecca Lutz cheered 'til she was hoarse.The kids had a fantastic time with everything from the giant parachute to the bucket stilts. Big groups of girls organized dance routines around a boom box, and adults joined in the tug of war. Ritha turned out to be a demon hula hooper. Bill and Lagos dominated the soccer field, while Igey hung around the basketball court, watching the older kids take on their teachers.Though the middle schoolers tried, their teachers were unstoppable. After-school assistant Hodan Osman dominated the defense in her tie-dye and headscarf. Sixth-grade assistant Htwe Htwe was a force to be reckoned with. And third-grade assistant Naza Orlovic shot spectacular baskets.

As the afternoon wound down, the rain that had been threatening all morning started to pour. This delighted the sweaty, grass-stained kids even more. Teachers tried to keep them dry and orderly, but they kept darting out from under the picnic shelters to grin up at the downpour.

In the end, every kid got a ribbon for participating in Field Day. And more than a few trudged back to the busses with their sneakers slurping.