Pence students celebrate end of school year with field day

Pence Elementary School in Fairfield celebrated a “field day” Wednesday with outdoor games, snacks, an obstacle course and even a helicopter.

The school has a tradition of doing something fun on the last day of school, often going to the swimming pool. Pence Principal Angela Jones said she had occasion to talk to a few sergeants with the Iowa National Guard, and they suggested having a field day where members of the Guard could run activity stations for the kids.

During Wednesday’s field day, the students got to look inside UH72 Lakota helicopter, used for search and rescue operations, Border Patrol and other tasks assigned by the Department of Homeland Security. Jones said school officials had to get permission from high-ranking military officers to bring that helicopter to Fairfield.

Cpl. Logan Forburger, a mechanic and crew chief who works on the helicopter, told the students it was one of the U.S. Army’s smallest helicopters. He mentioned that its nose camera is so good that from 4,000 feet in the air, it can tell if a person on the ground is flashing a “peace” sign.

One elementary student asked him if it was used to catch people who robbed banks. Forburger said it was not.

“You might want to do that,” the girl said.

Jones said she was thrilled to have such nice weather for the field day.

“I’ve been praying for two months for good weather on this day,” she said. “This has been an amazing day.”