One of the most anticipated times of the year in the Malad Valley is spring’s Grandparents Day, which took place last week at Malad Elementary School. 

David Oseguera's Fish Catcher.

The Day is a chance for grandparents to join parents and students at the school and get a look at what students have been up to over the course of the year.  While such a day might be the case in other places, the small-town nature of Malad (where grandparents tend to be abundant and local!) means that the event is usually the place to be on a Thursday near Easter.  

Last year’s Grandparent's Day was the first time that many people had a chance to see the new school facility, but this year the kinks had been worked out and the school buzzed with the excited kids, who could not wait to show their grandparents their classrooms, their projects, their lunchroom, their friends, and everything else they could.

Parents and kids alike got a chance to play on the playground throughout the day.

A “store” run by volunteers under the direction of the PTO was a popular place, as was the lunchroom, where kids had a chance to eat with their grandparents.

In classrooms, students presented projects they had been working on this spring.  The projects varied from grade to grade, but included science units and inventions ideas, among other things.

The central assembly of the morning was the annual Grandparents Day talent show, which demonstrated the amazing range of skills and abilities possessed by the kids of Malad.  

Participants were as follows:  Evelynn Hess, McCall Summers and Kinsley Johnson, Austin Schrenk, Alivia Seamons, Maylee Hanks, Braelyn Bastian, Elie Evanson, and Ruth Angell all performed dances.  Music performances included Hunter Clark, Gunner Clark, Daisy Hawkins, Claire Wright , Victoria Anderson (piano), Raelynn Patterson, Lucy Bird, Evelyn Ricks, Piper Lewis (singing), Olivia Briscoe, Titan Beaker, Ainsley Bealer, Audrey Blaisdell, Alivia Seamons (strings), Camilla Anderson (cello).  Some of the even more specialized acts included Emmett McCellan and Jackson Hannum’s basketball demonstration, Johnny Schrenk and Hyrum Jenkins showing off their archery skills, Kyler and Lillian Blaisdell demonstrating wrestling throws, Helenna Kronvall and her puppet comedy, the comic dancing of Gatlin Steed, a ballet demonstration from Charlotte Werk, and a tumbling exercise from Austin Schrenk and Aidyn Call.   

The Wise family (Brent, Sherrie, and granddaughter Emersyn) have their pictures taken at Grandparents Day.

Stage managers for the talent show included Dawson Miller, Paige Donnan, Camilla Anderson, Charlie Blackner, and Mrs. Potter.  Mrs. Grote and Mrs. Hurd ran the sound and production elements of the show.

This year, Grandparents Day was followed for many families by a trip to the City Park where the new playground had just been completed the evening before.  While there are plans for an official ribbon cutting soon, there was no stopping kids with an early release right before Spring Break from filling the new equipment with the excited sounds of play.  

Austin Schrenk's re-imagined storage container for food and drink.