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Schools

Kennedy Catholic hosts annual Grandparents' Mass

High school's Grandparents' Mass celebrates the special relationship between teens and their grandparents.

Although Thursday is traditionally a day families gather and show thanks for eachother, students at Manchester's John F. Kennedy Catholic High School showed some appreciation last week. They invited their grandparents to school Friday, to join them for a special service and luncheon.

Chris Bolesta, the school's president, said the event began as an initiative of the campus ministry office more than 20 years ago and has since become a treasured tradition.

"We realized that in the teen years, kids have a more special relationship with their grandparents than with their parents, so this is a way of bringing the grandparents into the school," she said. "Of all our traditions, this is my favorite. The kids are just so gentle with the grandparents."

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After the service, a professional photographer was available to take photos of students with their grandparents. Bolesta said many families like to have the opportunity to purchase a package to remember the day.

Students who do not have grandparents to invite don't necessarily have to go to Grandparents' Mass alone. They may bring another adult with significance in their lives, or be "adopted" by a friend's grandparents.

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John F. Kennedy Catholic High School is a co-ed Catholic high school, one of the only of its kind in West County. Of its 351 students, Bolesta said 250 brought at least one grandparent to Mass with them Friday.

Though students at Kennedy Catholic normally attend Mass in dress uniforms, Friday was a little different. The school's boys' soccer team qualified for state playoffs the week before and the first game was immediately after Grandparents' Mass. In preparation for the big game, school uniforms were temporarily traded for school spirit garb of green and gold. Bolesta said several grandparents were surprised to see the students dressed so strangely this year.

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