NILES — As kindergarten and first-grade students lined up and prepared to depart for their last dismissal of the school year, many turned back on the blacktop where they stood to say goodbye to their Viking mascot.

“Ni-les Vi-kings!” the children chanted as the Viking waved goodbye.

Moments before, the mascot was high-fiving and hugging the children as they celebrated the final day of school.

Each grade at Ballard Elementary was able to spend about 40 minutes outside jumping in bounce houses, running through obstacle courses, playing on playground equipment and lounging in the sun and shade.

Before, they each received a breakfast meal. Some also were able to celebrate in their classrooms, filling out yearbooks or playing games.

The series of events has happened annually for the past few years, thanks to the Ballard Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization.

Ashley Neff, the PTO president, said the children have loved the event in the past, and this year was no exception.

“The kids look forward to it, that’s for sure,” she said.

Ballard Elementary Principal Jerron Blood had similar sentiments. He said he was happy to see students who he thought would normally not enjoy the bounce houses and obstacles do so.

Blood said it has been a great year for the elementary, but he will miss the fifth-grade class, who will move up to Ring Lardner Middle School next fall. He moved to the elementary school from a middle school setting this school year, so he said he felt particularly drawn to the class.

“There’s a lot of really good kids in this group,” he said. “So many kids have earned this day. This is more important to them than the moving-on ceremony we do.”

Blood was also drawn to a number of events that he said stood out in memory, the Ballard Ball in particular. Students were invited to attend a dressed-up dance with their parents and classmates. The principal said the event drew large numbers of attendees, and was a great example of the strong relationship the parents have with their children’s school.

Amelia, Neff’s fifth-grade daughter, said her favorite memory was a jungle project a few years back. She and other students decorated the hallways to resemble a jungle ecosystem. Blood said he has heard multiple students state it as their favorite Ballard event.

Neff said she will miss the fifth-grade class the most this summer because it is the class she watched her daughter grow up with.

“They’re a really outstanding class,” she said. “I watched a lot of them go from little kindergartners all the way up to the fifth grade. It’s going to be sad watching them go up to the middle school.”

Neff will not have to leave Ballard, though. She has another child entering kindergarten.