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Each year,Ozona kids learn how to fly

Kite Day has been part of the elementary school for more than 25 years. It's an event that gets students - and parents - soaring.

By JANE MADDEN WELCH
Published April 11, 2006

PALM HARBOR - For one day every spring, students at Ozona Elementary School are flying high.

The occasion is Kite Day, an annual tradition started by former physical education teacher Willie Parker.

"Mr. Parker said he liked the thought of children getting a chance to experience the joy of flying a kite," PE teacher Sandy Everett said.

Kite Day has been an event at the school for more than 25 years, Everett estimated.

"There's a lot of tradition around here," principal Kerry Apuzzo said. "Students remember Kite Day long after they've left Ozona."

Apuzzo has many fond memories of Kite Day. She has been at Ozona Elementary for 18 years, first as a teacher, then assistant principal, then as principal since 2004.

Kite Day "is something our kids eagerly anticipate every year," Apuzzo said.

Students can bring their own kites or use ones provided by the PTA. Extra string is on hand for the inevitable broken lines or knots.

"We recommend triangle kites,'' Everett said. "They go up the quickest and easiest."

PE teacher Pete Jonsson said there are students who have never flown a kite, and it can be a challenge.

"The trick is getting the kite high enough, getting it above the tree line," Jonsson said.

Nine-year-old twins Devin and Shannon McCauley have attended Ozona since kindergarten. Now fourth-graders, the two were experiencing their fifth Kite Day.

"It's fun. You get to hang out with your friends," Devin said, experimenting with a Spider-Man kite with long blue tails.

The girls have practiced kite flying at home, and they said their dad was particularly good at flying a large trick dragon kite.

"If you trip, run into a tree or the wind just stops blowing, you're in trouble," Devin said.

The weather was cooperative - partly cloudy with a gentle breeze.

"It's perfect," Apuzzo said. "We don't say the 'R' word this time of year."

It has never rained on Kite Day in the 11 years that Everett has been at Ozona.

Two or three classes at a time congregate on the PE court. Everett gives brief safety instructions, and the students fan out across the court and the PE field.

Kristy Cantu admitted that she can't fly a kite but said it is a great activity for the kids. Cantu teaches emotionally handicapped students.

"It's good for them to release energy and socialize with the other kids," Cantu said. "They look forward to this."

Fourth-grader Joshua Joyner, 10, got some help from his dad, Rick. Father and son have participated in Kite Day since Joshua started kindergarten.

"I haven't missed one yet," Rick Joyner said.

Joyner is something of a kite aficionado. When he was 12, he, his brother and a friend set out to break the record in Guinness World Records for continuous kite flying, which was four days, Joyner said. They set up a tent in the front yard of his Clearwater home and contacted local news media about their quest.

"We got close to 50,000 feet out when our string broke on the second day," Joyner said.

He has a kite collection that includes some from around the world, some of which cost several hundred dollars. He can make kites do dive bombs, side swings and death rolls, and even fly a kite only inches off the ground.

"When I was these kids' age, that's all we did," Joyner said. "If you looked at the power lines in front of my house, there would always be a kite wrapped around it."

Joyner shared his expertise with anyone who needed help on Kite Day. With patience and a deft hand, he got Chase Joslin's shark flying.

"This is a blast," Joyner said.

[Last modified April 11, 2006, 16:06:41]