On Friday, March 29th, students packed into school a little slower than usual, a showcase of sensible shoes could be seen as our Grandparents and Special Friends were guided to the Small Gym to begin the third annual Grandparents and Special Friends day.

The grandparents were welcomed into the school at 8:30 with breakfast in the Small Gym. Soon after, the senior citizens were ushered into the chaos of Student Government. Virginia Oviendo, Grandmother of junior Ella Gomez-Barrientos, was impressed by the student lead assembly, “ I was overwhelmed with the productivity of the Student Government,” Oviendo said. “It was so impressive that the students had the courage to talk about real issues.”

The Associate Director of Development Constance Molzberger was the founder and organizer of this event in 2017, but she gives all the credit to the grandparents themselves who proposed the idea. “At a Grandparent Committee meeting, they decided that after second grade, they didn’t really get to see what student life is like at Parker and wanted to change that,” Molzberger said. “That year, we held the first ever Upper School Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day.”

The grandparent directed tradition was exclusively in the lower school just a few years ago. Now, Parker Grandparents are invited to various events per grade, including the fourth grade Greek Play, fifth grade Dubbing Ceremony and many others.

As student’s “Nana” or “Zaedi” got the option of tagging along through period A with their grandchild or touring the school with Dr. Frank, the school became a learning space not only reserved for students. “I loved talking about what Matthew has been doing all year,” Karen Meyer, grandmother of sophomore Matthew Garchik said. “I have actually read a few of the books they discussed.”

Some classes ran as usual, while others incorporated the Grandparents and Special Friends into the period. In Susan Elliott’s History of Creativity Class, the grandparents were asking questions and encouraged to be involved in the discussion. Sophomore Julia Polsky, a student in this class, said, “I thought it was cool specifically for a class like History where the goal is to learn from our past.”

After class, the grandparents were lead into the Auditorium where they were given their final presentations about life at Parker. They received welcomes from both Principal Dr. Frank and Head of the Upper School Justin Brandon. To end the morning, they watched dance routines from Parker’s team, and tried to understand the workings of our very successful robotics team.

The day was a success according to Daniel Mansueto. “I love the senior citizens,” Mansueto said. “They always add something fun to class.”

“I was so sad when they stopped doing grandparents day after second grade,” Susan Spiske, sophomore Aliya Spiske’s grandmother, said. “Thank golly they changed it!”