Approximately 350 grandparents drove out to Howard B. Thomas Grade School, 44W575 Plato Rd. in Burlington, last week to spend time with their grandchildren in the classroom.
“This school has held a Grandparents Day event every year for over 20 years,” said HBT Principal Carrie Ahlstedt. “People start calling about it in July. It’s something we do for the community. Grandparents love watching their grandkids at school.”
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“HBT is the only elementary school in Central Community Unit School District 301 that holds a Grandparents Day event,” said Leeann Larson, HBT Parent Teacher Organization secretary. “The PTO works with the school on the activities. Grandparents or significant others follow the students to see what happens during a normal school day.”
Sumera Stauber of Elgin, a PTO member, helped out at the school on Friday. Her son, Yusef, is an HBT student.
“I really love this school,” Sumera said. “Carrie Ahlstedt is a great principal, and all of the teachers are great. My second grade son is reading at the fifth grade level. Education is so important. Without an education, you cannot be successful.”
Kindergarten student Luca David of Elgin was visited in his classroom by his grandparents Boonkong and Melda Chan of Elgin and Bill David of Schaumburg. Luca and his fellow students were making pictures of an island tree as an example of a word beginning with the letter “I.”
“We have a letter exchange program with schools in different states,” said kindergarten teacher Katie Normoyles. “We will send out our letter “I” artwork and receive artwork from other schools using the other letters of the alphabet.”
Luca’s great-grandmother, Pat Myrda of Davis, Illinois, attended Grandparents Day so she could spend time with Luca and her three other great-grandchildren at the school.
Frank and Mary Episcopo drove to Burlington from their home in Addison so they could visit the classrooms of their three grandchildren.
Bartlett grandparents Jim and Marlene Palmer watched their grandson, Nathan Schultz of Elgin, having fun in the physical education class taught by Neil Wallner.
The Palmers are both retired teachers. Jim once taught at Sandburg Middle School in Elmhurst. Marlene taught middle school science at School District U46.
“This is a wonderful Grandparents Day open house,” said Marlene.
Fifth grade teacher Debbie Kloet asked grandparents to tell students in her class what it was like when they attended school.
Schaumburg resident Joe Condo, grandfather of fifth grade student Jesse Cerbes of Elgin, said he once attended school in New York City.
“I went to the Blessed Sacrament School in The Bronx, which is now closed,” Condo said. “Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Supreme Court also went there. We walked to school because the Catholic schools there at that time didn’t have buses. We watched black and white television, and we didn’t have computers.”
The district launched its 1:1 technology program this year. Second grade students through senior high school students are using new Chromebooks, while kindergarten and first grade students are using Nexus 7 tablets. Central High School students received their Chromebooks in August. HBT students received their devices on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Kloet’s students used an app to age a photograph of themselves so they could tell what they will look like when they are grandparents. The altered images of the students were hung on the classroom walls. Students and grandparents had fun trying to guess the true identities.
Since National Grandparents Day officially falls on the first Sunday of September following Labor Day, HBT celebrated the holiday this month on Sept. 11.
Friday also marked the anniversary of 9/11. While Grandparents Day was a fun event, the school also paid tribute to the lives lost in 2001.
“The flag in front of the school was flown at half-staff,” said Carol Gallois, HBT administrative assistant. “A moment of silence was held at the beginning of the day in order to remember what happened 14 years ago.”
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.