Junior School House Games

Now in our fifth week of the school year, students have been welcomed into the KES fold and are starting to feel the camaraderie of our Highlander clan. What better way to celebrate our Scottish connections than with our annual Junior School Highland Games? On Tuesday, October 5, under beautiful sunny skies, the entire Junior School prepared for friendly competition. Teachers donned their woollen kilts and students wore their brightly coloured house t-shirts representing the historic campus houses of Haliburton, Howe, Tupper and Judd. Everyone followed the sound of Mr. LePoidevin’s bagpipes down to Menzies Glen. The competitions began with the classic “och-aye” relay race. The lightest member of each team was carried to the end line where “och-aye” was called out loudly, signalling subsequent members of the team to sprint forward and assist the original carrier, until the entire team was escorting the lightest member back to the home line.  There were shrieks of laughter as they ran back and forth across Menzies Field.

The tug-of-war competition, a crowd favourite, followed with much cheering, enthusiasm, and teamwork. Next, in true Highlander tradition, our students learned about the Scottish caber toss and tried their hands (and quad muscles) at this heavy lifting event. A six-foot long log--the caber--was hoisted by competitors and launched forward from a squat position. The goal was to toss the caber the farthest from the starting line. There were some impressive throws and good distances achieved by both boys and girls.

 

The final event to close out the games was the annual egg toss. While many students ended up with egg on their shirts, congratulations are extended to Hunter Hood ‘26 who demonstrated the baseball art of soft hands, handily winning the 2021 competition and defending his 2020 title. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Campbell and Mr. Lakes for organizing this year’s games. We can’t wait for our next house competition which will be scheduled in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned.