Connecting loved ones and bringing families together has always been what Maclay School has strived to do. Students, teachers, parents and grandparents all gathered collectively in the Cartee and Webster gyms on Friday, March 3 to form Maclay’s first Grandparent’s Day in which pre-k through twelfth grade would be incorporated in.
Organizer Kim McWilliams has been looking at making Grandparents Day a one school matter for a while and with the help from students and faculty members, Maclay managed to bring the whole school together to showcase all the talents which students have within them.
“We are doing so many amazing things in [the] middle and upper school,” McWilliams said. “We want to be able to share that with the grandparents, and grandparents love seeing that and there’s just not that many opportunities for them to connect with their grandkids once they get older.”
The Grandparents Day showcase began bright and early at 9 am at the pre-k, then transitioned to the middle school at 10:45 am, then upper school at 12 pm and finally finishing off with lower school at 1 pm. Although the school day didn’t stop, it was altered in order for students to be able to perform in front of all the grandparents who were able to show up to their dedicated day. This special day gave grandparents the chance to visit the campus, watch their grandkids perform, get more involved and enjoy valuable time together with their families.
“I think Grandparent’s Day is really important,” parent and upper school math teacher Katie Walker said. “My girls were proud to share their school with both sets of grandparents this year. They had worked hard over the last few weeks to learn songs and create pieces of art to share. It’s a special event for the grandparents, too.”
Not only is Grandparents Day a special moment for younger students, but it is also just as important to upper school students. When it was the upper school’s turn to entertain the grandparents, several clubs and bands stepped up on stage and performed numerous songs and skits that filled the whole gymnasium with joy and laughter.
“I was both nervous and excited to perform,” Glee Club member Chari Beamer said. “Since Maclay has been focusing a lot on the future of the performing arts program, it was very important to myself and others to showcase all the hard work we put in during rehearsals.”
Making Grandparents Day a one-school event has given the opportunity to hundreds of Maclay families to make a forever bond with the ones they cherish and to unify the school as a whole.
