Celebrating lovely relationship grandparents have in community

A GROUP of 60 grandparents of students from St Aidan’s Community School in Brookfield participated in the school’s annual Grandparents’ Day last Friday, January 26.

The first and second year students and their grandparents gathered in the school’s oratory for a service while their grandparents shared their memories of their own school days.

The pupils told their classmates and the other grandparents about what their own grandparents meant to them, with the occasion offering an opportunity to show appreciation for grandparents.

Kevin Shortall, the principal of St Aidan’s CS, told The Echo: “We’ve been doing a Grandparents’ Day for a few years.

“Grandparents are more involved in their grandchildren’s lives now, when I was growing up your grandparents were elderly people who you saw maybe once a week.

“Now, grandparents are younger, they’re quite involved and have a huge impact on their grandchildren and they have a lovely relationship with them. It’s not like a parent’s role, it’s different.

“When we asked the kids why their grandparents are so important to them, a girl in first year said I always go and see my nanny when I’m sad, and she makes me feel better.”

There were also some great-grandparents among the grandparents, who shared what their childhoods were like and how they compared to modern-day children’s experiences.

“Years ago, when the grandparents were kids, they’d play in the fields and chop wood,” said Mr Shortall, “but, now, recreation happens behind a screen.

Enjoying grandparents day in St Aidan’s

“There was a lovely atmosphere, and also an opportunity for the grandparents to talk about what school was like for them. It was really a celebration of intergenerational families.”

The importance of grandparents is also key due to their changing role in families, with them typically being more hands-on now and being keen to be involved in their local area.

“A lot of the students’ grandparents live in the community, so it was an opportunity for people who are local to come to the school,” said Mr Shortall.

“The grandparents have sent their children here, then their children have sent their children here.

“We’re old enough now that generations of families have come to this school.

“[Grandparents’ Day] helps us build a deeper sense of community and it’s a deeper connection to the school for the students if they know Mammy and Nanny went to school here.

“It deepens the appreciation for the school, the value of education and the community, and it also celebrates and shows the importance of grandparents in the life of a child.”

Grandparents’ Day also featured a candle service in the school’s oratory, to remember pupils’ grandparents who had passed away.