Grandfriends’ Day Is Grander Than Ever

It was another record-setting year for the annual Grandfriends’ Day event at Winsor. Held the day before Thanksgiving break, over 140 grandparents and grandfriends came to campus for a special day of programming. 

Winsor students always have a morning snack break. On Grandfriends’ Day it was extra sweet, and not just because of the cinnamon sugar donut holes and apple cider! Relatives and friends from near and far joined their students to socialize over sugary confections in the Wildcat Room. Afterward, students escorted their special guests to class, giving personalized school tours along the way.

Dozens of teachers opened their classroom doors, making room for older learners to join lessons both as participants and observers in courses like Chamber Players, Computer Aided Design, United States History, and Modern Europe and the Problems of Power. The Class II Science course was doing chicken wing dissections and some grandparents and grandfriends jumped right in, wearing gloves and wielding instruments. The World Languages Department hosted a number of folks with visitors to classes in Spanish, French, Latin, and Chinese. 

For those who didn’t accompany students to class, a robust panel made up of Lower School and Upper School students kept grandparents and grandfriends entertained. Talking about their favorite Winsor traditions—like painting the senior homeroom—students also spoke about their teachers and the subject-matter expertise and passion they bring to the classroom, which in turn fuels student learning. 

A few favorite classes were highlighted in the discussion—the junior year global studies requirement in which English and history courses are combined for a deeper cultural study of a particular region; the upstate New York field trip as part of the paleobiology course, including a visit to a dig site and meeting female scientists; and Marine Biology, where students learn about native ecosystems like cranberry bogs and salt marshes. 

After a full class period of continuing education, grandparents and grandfriends returned to the Wildcat Room hungry for lunch. At home, students rave about Chef Heather’s incredible cooking and now grandparents and grandfriends got to experience a festive fall meal prepared by Winsor’s award-winning culinary director. Noshing on salad with cider-poached apples and celery root remoulade followed by a maple balsamic sage chicken and rosemary parsnip polenta, diners enjoyed both a musical program and remarks. 

Students in Class IV Rock On are learning about the history of rock music and simultaneously building their own band. They stopped by the luncheon to sing “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes, complete with 1960s-style back-up singers and choreography. Finishing the meal with an apple bread pudding with salted caramel crème anglaise, Head of School Sarah Pelmas spoke about the history of Winsor and the important role grandparents and grandfriends play in a child’s life. 

“There is such a need for places that empower and build up women and their leadership,” explained Ms. Pelmas. Leadership is top of mind as Winsor moves closer to accomplishing the goals of the Winsor Leads Campaign. “Every single day, at this school, our students look around and they see young women being smart, starring in the school play, being the captain of the soccer team, running student government, speaking their minds, hugging a friend in need, and fighting for what matters to them. Every day they see the power of young women running things, together, with and for one another, and they internalize the fact that women can run anything because, at Winsor, they run literally everything!”

For students, grandparents and grandfriends have “the generational gift of not being their parents,” joked Ms. Pelmas. Adding, “The beauty of grandparents and friends is that your students know you will always love them and always be there, and they turn to you for that steadfastness…You are basically magical.”

In closing, Ms. Pelmas thanked the visitors and encouraged them to return. “Thank you especially for joining us on this day before Thanksgiving break, and for sharing your families with us all year long,” she said.