In 2006, a program called Seniors Are Cool started in Grandview School K-12. The Grandview Resource Council brought the idea of bringing seniors into the school to form a relationship with our Grade 5 students. This was an opportunity to show students that elderly people have valuable skills and knowledge and allow the students to realize that there are many people in the community who care about them and their education. Students would write a letter to their senior partner and then the student and senior would get together at the first gathering and get to get to know each other better. Our Grade 5 teacher at the time, Mrs. Nadine Dzisiak, remembers participating in a field trip to Clear Lake, cooking in the kitchen, and going to the Drop-In Centre to play billiards and shuffleboard. As a teacher here at the time, I remember the excitement when a Seniors Are Cool activity day was taking place. Meeting their senior partner for the first time always had the students in anticipation, and baking cookies – who wouldn’t be excited about that! Making perogies was always an exciting day and staff would just happen to walk into the kitchen as they were ready to eat. Okay, maybe that was just me!
The program continued to be a hit, with Mrs. Tannis Pulock teaching Grade 5 until the end of the 2022 school year and now Mrs. Brittany Deslauriers taking over the class. Some of Mrs. Pulock’s favourite activities were the Christmas Party at the Drop-In Centre where they enjoyed a meal and a sing-along accompanied by a band, going to the batting cage, and going to the museum where the seniors were able to add a lot of background information to the students on the artifacts they were seeing.
Mrs. Deslauriers reported that some activities they have participated in this year include Yoga with Buffy, bingo, and a Halloween party at the Drop-In Centre where students and some seniors dressed up and played Halloween-based games. The current Grade 5 class listed bowling and making perogies and cookies as their favourite activities so far this year, but say they are looking forward to the year-end windup as well, as they hear it is a lot of fun.
Former students who were involved in the program recall many of the activities they participated in as well. Some of their favourites included participating in the Elder Abuse Awareness Walk, going to a movie with the seniors, bowling, going to Wilson Park to play horseshoes, ladder ball, and of course eating. The top of the list for most of the former students was making perogies!
The Seniors Are Cool Program has been a big part of Grandview School K-12 for many years. It not only brings seniors and youth together to have a pile of fun, but it provides our students with a wealth of knowledge from community members who have experienced much more than they have. For the staff, it is great to see parents of former students come into our building and discuss changes that have occurred over the years and to hear stories about what their children are doing now. The bond between the seniors and students is strong, as some of the seniors go to watch their student partner at hockey and baseball games, and we know of some students who continue to visit their senior beyond their high school years. This is a partnership that the Grandview Resource Centre and Grandview School K-12 hope to continue for years to come.