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Stadium Drive kindergartners honor men who rock
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Ava Crespo (front) couldn't hide her smile on March 9 as she hung out with her dad, Santana Crespo, during the father's day lunch held in her classroom.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Kindergartner Nicholas Mshar (right) cuddled up to his grandpa Don Milanowski during a father's day lunch in his classroom on March 9.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Kindergartners (right) sang songs about love and respect directly to their dads as entertainment during the March 9 father's day lunch.
By SARAH FOOR
Stadium Drive kindergarten teacher Barb Gonda enjoys opening up her classroom for her students’ parents, grandparents, and friends throughout the school year.
Gonda hosts a Mother’s Day lunch each May, but her students are on summer break by the time Father’s Day arrives in June. Instead of depriving dads the chance to visit, Gonda created her own holiday. The teacher hosted her 12th annual Father’s Day lunch March 9.
“My students were invited to bring their dad, uncle, grandpa or any special male friend to lunch. Male role models play an important role in my students’ lives, so it is a worthy celebration,” said Gonda.
Dads brought in lunches for their kindergartners from fast food restaurants around Boardman.
After lunch, the duos completed a crossword puzzle together and then the kindergartners rose from their seats to entertain with songs about great dads and grandpas.
One selection featured the catchy refrain “dad, uncle, friend, grandpa — you rock!” As the song came to a close, the kindergartners handed their mentors a painted rock, decorated with messages of love, to show the men how much they “rock.”
Kindergartner Nicholas Mshar enjoyed the event with his grandpa, Don Milanowski.
“I love spending time with my grandson. We go to lunch often. The Youngstown Sports Grille is our favorite place to visit,” Milanowski explained.
After lunch and entertainment, students took their dads into a nearby hall to show off art projects that included a description of dad and a hand-drawn portrait. As the portraits were drawn by kindergartners, dads and grandpas had fun guessing which likeness was theirs.