Article by Phoenix writer Elizabeth Kalin Tynan ’26:
Sophomore, junior, and senior students and their grandparents filled the lobby for this year’s 10th-12th grade Grandparents’ Day at Kellenberg on the morning of September 28. 449 students and grandparents were at the event.
Mass at Grandparents’ Day this year was celebrated by Fr. Dan Griffin, Kellenberg’s school chaplin. The homily he gave placed emphasis on all grandparents do for their families, in faith and other areas, and how to properly appreciate those efforts. On stage with him was also Frassati, a miniature Bernese mountain puppy recently introduced to the building.
Breakfast was light and featured bagels, with the options of butter and cream cheese, crumcakes, and drinks like coffee, tea, orange juice, and more. It was organized, set up and served by the student members of SALT (Service, Allegiance, Leadership, Teamwork).
Raffles were another big part of the breakfast. There were more diverse prize baskets than previous years which went home with many of the present families.
Senior Kira Petrosky, who came with both sets of her grandparents as well as her cousins, said, “I really enjoy celebrating the faith with my grandparents, most of my faith comes from them and what they’ve taught me. It [was] a very good way to appreciate [that].”
Grandparents’ Days have been held at Kellenberg since 2017, and have grown with the school not only in the number of attendees but also the items on the itineraries. This year students had the opportunity to take their grandparents on personalized tours of the new Firebird Center, which lasted for hours after breakfast. Regardless, Brother Peter Sennert, S.M., assures, “Our doors are always open for people to come in.”
Dr. Val Serpe, an organizer, says, “An important part of Kellenberg’s mission is building family, community and relationships. It all ties back to the Marianist belief of serving Jesus through Mary.”
Grandparents’ Day is one of many Communion Breakfasts held throughout the school year, which aim to welcome all groups into the school community, each focusing on specific demographics and grade levels, and how they can become involved in more activities and events at the school. Mass is held in the auditorium and breakfast is served in the cafeteria and/or gymnasium, and there are often keynote speakers who address attendees about a variety of school topics.
Grades 6-9 had their Grandparents’ Mass on September 28. In the future, Kellenberg hopes to gain not only more guests but potentially expand the event to 3 days, utilize the Firebird Center for different activities, and reimagine the menu.
