The Short Hills Campus bustled with activity on May 8, 2008, for Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day, a chance for students to share classroom experiences with the hundreds of grandparents and special friends in attendance.

The day began with a gathering in the gymnasium. Lower School Director Ted Corvino conducted his annual survey of how many times the grandparents had attended these special days and how many miles they traveled to come to Short Hills. He explained that Grade 6 is now at the Martinsville Campus and said Grade 5 would introduce an opera they had written. At that point, the Kindergarteners sang four songs, and then Grade 5 students explained their opera based on the story of Pandora’s Box and performed excerpts, including the overtures to Acts I and II.

Each Grade had activities planned for the classroom visits. For example, in Grade 1, grandparents wrote down their favorite memories of spending time with their grandchildren. Grade 2 students played “Jeopardy!” with clues they had written about their Women in History projects. Students in Grade 3 displayed musical instruments they had created, and students in Grade 4 recited their poems about U.S. Presidents. In Grade 5, math students completed multiplication tables, English students played grammar games, and science students put pieces of masking tape all over their grandparents’ clothing to indicate the locations of specific bones.

The grandparents enjoyed seeing what their grandchildren have been learning, including Richard Weiss ’55, grandfather of Grade 3 student Jacob Weiss. “We are so proud and happy that our grandson is attending Pingry. The school has maintained the quality of education that I experienced, while adapting to current technology and methodologies,” Mr. Weiss said.



© 2008 The Pingry School