On October 28, the middle school hosted the annual grandparent’s celebration allowing students to learn about their own families and meet the families of others.  Themed “Back to School”, the day’s activities were centered around school experiences. 

The morning began as students and grandparents piled into the commons where warm sausages and hot coffee greeted them.  After making their selection among the tables of food, they sat down and used the time to make new acquaintances. Students and grandparents alike got to see members of other families that they might not usually get to meet. 

“My favorite part of Grandparent’s Day was when we got to meet everyone else’s grandparents in the beginning,” said Courtney Beat, 8^th grade.

Students had the opportunity to show their grandparents around the school, giving them a glimpse into their lives.  There were also photo booths set up so that pictures of the families could be taken to remember the occasion.

“I really liked showing my grandparents around the school, especially the plans for the new campus,” said Lauren Allderedge, 8^th grade.

After the preliminary greetings had subsided, everyone moved into the New Gym where Jim Marsh, headmaster, opened the day.  Tim Muehleisen, 8^th grade history teacher, then led the group as the M.C. of all the events.  The morning continued with a performance by the middle school band followed by a penmanship activity where everyone wrote a verse as best as they could.  Steve Hall, middle school principle, and Judith Honeycutt, 8^th grade English teacher, graded the papers and awarded an apple to the winner.

Next, the audience played a multiple choice question game about school facts such as the student to computer ratio in schools.  Later, the students and grandparents played bingo.  The questions, however, had to do with school experiences.  For example, a chip could be placed on the board if the person had ever been spanked with a paddle.  Also, the middle school choir preformed and finally a grandparent familiar to Westminster concluded the day with a motivating speech about leaving a legacy. 

“I liked spending time with my grandparents during bingo.  I also learned that they know a lot about the old TV shows,” said Jullian Adams, 8^th grade.

Dale Beachy, middle school math teacher, also enjoyed watching the bingo game.

“My favorite part of Grandparent’s day was walking around and seeing students make a connection with their grandparents that might not have happened otherwise,” said Beachy.

This was different from previous years where grandparents and grandchildren did activities in classrooms.  It was more of a collective experience this time as everyone was gathered in the New Gym.

“Last year was more interactive because we had a “live feed” science experiment where I jumped in the swimming pool,” said Beachy.

However, Hannah Heintz, 7^th grade, enjoyed this year’s celebration more than last year.

“I liked this year better and it went above my expectations.  I liked spending time with my grandparents,” said Heintz.