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Grandparents Day

            There is something different about Grandparents day at Berwick Academy. I have seen it at other schools, and they are certainly always fun. But here it just seems to be massive. Today, we hosted over 400 grandparents and special friends. In the last five years, we have had to move from a tent, to the Commons, and now to the field house to accommodate the growing numbers of guests. This day says something powerful about the nexus of education and about family.

            As a father now, I see the power of grandparents in such a different way than before. I was never particularly close to my grandparents as a child, or at least I don’t remember it that way. I do remember them as a catalyst for bringing our family together, which was important. For my own daughters, their grandparents are essential pieces of their lives. Their role is one that combines fun, respect, and love in a slightly different kind of concoction than is present in their parents. As a son, my parents now offer me a viewpoint on raising children that strikes me as invaluable. They have an ability to put things into perspective. They calm me down.





            Part of being a PK-12 day school is that we touch a wide range of ages – virtually all stages of family life. Our mission still espouses that we are “one school with three divisions” and Grandparents Day is one of those moments when we see this most powerfully. It does not surprise me to see grandparents in our Lower School, but to see some of them come back year after year, even in the hallways of Fogg Memorial – that strikes me as noteworthy. Our Grandparents feel like they are a part of the Berwick experience, which they are. Or perhaps it is a reminder that we, at Berwick, get this special chance to be a part of your family. On Grandparents Day, these lines become blurry and we share in a collective celebration of both learning and love.


            Whatever it actually is, I know this for sure: Grandparents Day is a magical day that energizes all of us to be our best selves. I say that not merely as students, teachers, and educators – I say “best” more so as people. Grandparents Day catalyzes all of us to consider what it means to be the very best human beings we can be. And that, I would argue, is a very good thing indeed.

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