Grand tour of school
St Peter Chanel School alumni Mike Hay embraced Grandparents Day with his four grandsons who currently attend. Back row from left, Cohan, 11, and Layton Turnbull, 9, and front row from left, Wyatt, 7, and Cooper Burnett, 10. Photo: Gordon Preece.
It was back to school for grandparents at St Peter Chanel School on 29 May, chaperoned by their mokopuna (grandchildren).
Organised “every few years”, the Grandparents Day reinvigorated the bonds between the two family generations, through classroom tours and side-by-side activities. Teacher and organiser of the event, Megan Strong, says the values and sage advice grandparents can offer tamariki is a boon.
“We love to acknowledge the relationships that we have within our school community and the valuable treasure that our elders have,” she says. “They hold so much history and connection for us and our growth, and it’s important for children to know how to communicate and interact with people. I hope that the grandparents go away with a really good understanding of what school’s like for their grandchildren and the children feel that they’ve connected with their grandparents.”
Alumni, and now grandfather, Mike Hay, revisited his old stomping ground with his four grandchildren who currently attend, and said they were in good hands.