On May 4th, 2026 nearly 50 middle school students from five CPS schools came together at Little Cubs Field in Humboldt Park for a day of friendly play, cross-neighborhood connection, and celebration.
The Cubs Jr. All-STAR Game is a time-honored tradition of celebrating the leadership and sportsmanship of select students to culminate a P.E. class unit combining baseball and social emotional learning skills. P.E. teachers nominated their students to attend the field trip based on their display of self-awareness and self- management skills, respect to classmates and teachers, leadership in the classroom, and demonstrating strong teamwork.
These skills and attributes were on full display throughout the day, with students across cheering each other on, encouraging their teammates, and stepping out of their comfort zones to meet new people or play new positions.
After friendly games of kickball and baseball, students got to show off their school spirit and creativity by inventing and performing an original school cheer. They also reflected on their experience from the day and the power of sport to bring people together, mingling and debriefing with students from different schools. Themes of the importance of sportsmanship and not being a sore loser came up in these debrief conversations, along with the joy of seeing their peers help and encourage each other even if they weren’t on the same team.
“Playing sports makes you work with and talk to people you wouldn’t normally,” a 7th grade student from Pilsen Community Academy noted.
“It shows us how people can connect and work together as a team,” a 5th grader from Barry Elementary reflected.
Teachers also had a great time, speaking to the benefits of the experience to their students, emphasizing the opportunity to travel to new parts of the city, build connections across neighborhoods and cultures, and be recognized for their growth as leaders and teammates.
“My students have been looking forward to this for months! They’ve been asking ‘are you going to pick me to go?’ They have so much fun and enjoy engaging with new people.“ – Kershaw Elementary P.E. Teacher
“A highlight from the experience is seeing my students interact with and help students from other schools and from different backgrounds and ethnicities.” – Parker Community Academy P.E. Teacher
Sport has always had a unique power to bring people together, and the 2026 Cubs Jr. The All-STAR game was no exception! We look forward to keeping this tradition alive in years to come.
