Grandparents' Day at Bayview Avenue School was a celebration of grandparents and special people - both of whom are, in most cases, one and the same. "This is my favorite day because grandparents are very special to me," Principal Odette Wills stated in her opening remarks to the students, staff and invited grandparents who had gathered in the school auditorium. Two special guests from the neighboring Meadowbrook Care Center, Franny Moglia and Tony Mercurio, were honored with front row seats for the class performances and were presented with certificates and floral arrangements by students. A multimedia slideshow entitled "Why My Grandparent Is a Hero" featured multi-generational family photos presented with the voices of students explaining why their grandparents and great-grandparents are special to them. This particular presentation filled the auditorium with "oohs" and "ahhs" as the faces, places, and sentiments struck a chord with the audience. A second presentation, this one with video of a recent Bayview School student's visit to the Meadowbrook Care Center, also drew a round of applause.
The assembly, coordinated by teachers Geraldine LaPenne (Enrichment) and Jeannie Rodriguez (Vocal Music), featured live performances by students. Ms. Kilman and Ms. Shulman's dual language class performed an original "Grandparents' Day Rap" in both English and Spanish. Mrs. Ruge's fourth-grade class performed a skit called "What Grandma Thought She Heard," a humorous take on old age hearing problems and the messages that really matter. Ms. Grempel's kindergarten class sang "You Are Special," featuring new lyrics sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Ms. Green and Ms. Kliegman's second-grade class got the audience clapping and swaying when they performed a show-stopping dance routine called "Blame It on the Boogie".
After the assembly, grandparents were invited to visit classrooms and share in the learning experience for the rest of the morning. There were also numerous Grandparents' Day themed bulletin boards and other related displays in the lobby.
