Students in Julie Stirling's fifth-grade class at High Lakes watch a hot-air balloon fly Friday morning.

The hot-air balloon that 11-year-old Beth Miller had constructed from panels of orange and yellow tissue paper lofted into the air on the last day of school and sailed away west, over the treetops near High Lakes Elementary School in Bend.

On a breezy day when many students indulged in end-of-the-year hijinks, the students in Julie Stirling’s fifth-grade class closed out a science unit on flight by launching colorful tissue-paper hot-air balloons from the playground. Stirling and parent volunteers used metal funnels atop propane camp stoves to fill each balloon with hot air.

Students gathered around each stove and made last-minute repairs to their balloons with glue and masking tape and counted down as each balloon was released.

Beth’s balloon wasn’t the only one to float over the fence at the edge of the school field. Most balloons, though, descended on school grounds and were chased down by exuberant fifth-graders.

”Whoa, look at that. That’s a goner!” said Mark Wald, 11, watching a pink-and-red balloon catch the wind.

Mark said he thought the balloon launch was a good way to combine lessons with fun, particularly on the last day of school.

”You get to learn about science and how to make things lift off,” he said. ”(And) a lot of balloons you get to chase.”

Wald and Hayden Burket, 11, were among the students who raced into the field to catch balloons as they descended.

”It’s just exciting,” Hayden said. ”A lot better than doing math.”

He said he was surprised – not to mention impressed – that some of the balloons flew too far away to be retrieved.

”I had no idea. I thought they’d just go up and come down,” Hayden said.

Jade Young, 10, said it was exciting to finally see the balloons in the air.

”When you start, it’s like eight pieces of tissue paper,” she said.

A great deal of careful scissor work, about two Glue Sticks’ worth of glue and a wire loop for the opening also went into each balloon, Beth added.

Rachelle Burnham, 11, said building her balloon was frustrating at times, particularly because the tissue paper was so delicate.

But she said the work was worth it in the end.

”It’s pretty cool, because … you get to see your own balloon (fly),” she said, instead of simply launching a balloon made by the teacher.

”It’s a very good way to end the year,” Jade said.

”You get to have fun,” Rachelle agreed.

Of course, it helped that science is her favorite subject.

”I love science,” she said. ”Ms. Stirling makes it fun – she makes everything fun.”