Celebrating a generation

Jacqui Brown

Even the gloom of a rainy Friday didn’t keep determined grandparents

from spending time with their grandchildren.

More than 200 of them showed up at St. Robert Bellarmine

Elementary Catholic School in Burbank for a Mass in honor of

Grandparents Day led by Father Lawrence Signey at St. Robert

Bellarmine Church.

Following the Mass there was a continental breakfast prepared and

served by a group of parent volunteers in St. Eleanor’s Hall. During

breakfast, the special guests sampled a 20-minute musical performance

provided by the school’s band before heading off to the classrooms to

take part in activities with the children.

Principal June Rosena said they’ve been celebrating Grandparents

Day for more than 10 years.

“This is the best turnout we’ve ever had,” Rosena said. “In church

there was standing room only. It was amazing.”

Special accommodations were made for students whose grandparents

were unable to attend. They were given the opportunity to choose

someone else to attend in place of a grandparent.

“There are many students that don’t have grandparents and we

didn’t want anyone to feel left out,” Rosena said.

Whether it was listening to a report from fourth-grade students or

sitting shoulder to shoulder, coloring pictures in the second grade,

everyone seemed to have a good time. Marta and Manuel Bin came to

watch their 5-year-old grandson, Michael, perform several songs along

with his classmates in Wyomi Fernando’s kindergarten class.

“We enjoyed all the activities -- the Mass and the breakfast was

lovely,” Marta said.

The Bins were impressed with a piece that Michael had written and

read out loud.

“He said he knows we love him because we take him to school every

day,” Marta Bin said.