David Fernandez and his grandfather, Angel Fernandez
BLOOMFIELD — Grandparents Day at Carteret Elementary School was celebrated on Friday, Oct. 10.
This is one of the more appreciated events of the school year when children, and the parents of their parents and sometimes the grandparents of their parents, sit down together for a McDonald’s meal or snack. The event is just one on the school’s social calendar emphasizing community outreach.
Coordinating the morning were Marissa Acosta, guidance counselor, and Rachael Ciliento, an interventionist.
Ciliento said the school has had the celebration for at least ten years and it is an acknowledgement of National Grandparents Day which is the first Sunday after Labor Day. President Jimmy Carter established the observance as an annual event in 1979.
“It’s one of my favorites, Ciliento said. “I just like seeing people together, happy and eating.”
The event is also a fundraiser for the home and school association which helped to set up the gym.
Jersey Mike’s, a local sandwich business, dedicated 20 percent of its sales that day, to the association, if a customer said “Jersey Mike’s” when placing an order.
It was the first year the business has gotten involved with Grandparents Day and Ciliento’s idea.
Best Bagels, another Bloomfield business, provided coffee for the adults.
There were three sessions for the get-togethers and the grandparents brought their snacks.
“This is our biggest event of the year, the biggest crowd,” Ciliento said. “We should capitalize on that. I’m always thinking about how to get our students more. Today we hosted over 250 grandparents and they had to RSVP. It makes me so happy to see the children, looking through the crowd for their grandparents, and their faces lighting up when they see them.”
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