Grandfriends Day

Dear Friends-

We just finished our annual Grandfriends Day, which is when our students celebrate their special bond and relationship with an older person in their life. This afternoon, Grandfriends poured in from locations far and near and quickly settled into a full schedule of activities with the children. This has consistently been one of my favorite events at Randolph, and I love watching our students as they walk hand in hand between two grandparents, nestle into an oversized book with an uncle or aunt, or sit idly on the porch eating homemade parfait with a loving elder.

We intentionally set this time aside without parents so that our students are able to focus on the wisdom, humor and kindness of their special friends. You notice that the idea of “friend” gets redefined over the course of this day as the kids become deeply absorbed in the company of people who are neither their peers nor their parents. Often, there is a calm energy that emerges, a quietness even. Kids will be kids, and there is still a lot of goofy, exuberant fun to be had, but being around a Grandfriend seems to center them in a really beautiful way.

Thank you to each Grandfriend who visited today, and to each of your reading this who have gone out of their way to foster a special bond and friendship with the children in your life. On days like today, you can’t help but wonder why every day isn’t a Grandfriends Day!

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our Expansion Art Auction tomorrow, and wanted to remind those of you who don’t live nearby that you can still help Randolph School by bidding by proxy or donating to the “Studios” building project online.

Happy Grandfriends Day!!

Be well,

Ben