Neighbor News
Grandparents Day Celebrates Family and Friends
Grandparents and grandfriends were invited to participate in classroom activities with their grandchildren.
Each year before Thanksgiving, Barnesville celebrates Grandparents and Grandfriends Day, inviting special guests to spend a morning with students on campus to experience the joy, support, and excellence we know to be The Barnesville Way.
Guests were treated to a continental breakfast provided by the Barnesville Parent Connection (BPC) at a Welcome Reception. To open the program, Mrs. Johnson announced that event chair Bill Bush donated a tree that will be planted on campus in honor of our ever growing “Barnesville Family Tree” community. The idea was inspired by students who think of Barnesville as their second family. It is his hope that this will become a tradition for Grandparents Days to come.
Students performances set a joyful tone for the rest of the morning (click to watch):
- Early Childhood, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten sang and signed Fanga Alafia and Under One Sky
- First and Second Grades sang Giving Thanks and A Wild Turkey
- Middle School Performers
- Daniil played violin - Modest Mussorsky by Gopak
- Aleksander played piano - Sonatina, Op. 13, No. 1 Mvt. III by Dmitry Kabalevsky
- Juliana played flute - The Spinning Song by Albert Elmenreich
- Amanda and Sophie sang We’ll Be Alright, a song written by Sophie
- Lower School’s Young Performers
After the performances, grandparents and grandfriends were invited to participate in classroom activities with their grandchildren.
Keeping with tradition, grandparents and friends were able to dedicate newly purchased library books in the name of their grandchildren. School Librarian Cindy Barr selects new books each year for this occasion to keep reading material fresh and up-to-date with students’ interests. Older books are donated to nonprofit organizations.
In addition to the traditional family photos taken in the Library, this year, the Grandparents Day Committee created a shadow box of photos of each student, including a photo of their special guest as an additional keepsake gift.
The School is extremely thankful for the volunteer efforts and community spirit of our faculty and staff hat enable students to share their Barnesville experience with family and friends each fall. We are especially thankful to the event chair, Bill Bush, for his generous donations of time, treasure, and talent. In addition to the new Family Tree and Shadow Box gifts, he made a batch of his now-famous homemade applesauce for the students to enjoy with their family and friends -- a treat he introduced to Barnesville last year.
A photo album of the day can be viewed on Facebook.
Barnesville School of Arts & Sciences is an independent private school in Montgomery County, Maryland offering innovative preschool through 8th grade programs. Cross-curricular teaching encourages students to explore how subjects relate to one another, helping them to make connections that spark inquiry and deepen understanding. Small classes enable skilled teachers to engage each child in an academically challenging environment. Our 30-acre campus is our extended classroom, and we integrate nature into everyday learning. Barnesville is certified as a Maryland Green School by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education, demonstrating achievement in curriculum and instruction, community partnerships, and best management practices.
