- Alumni
- Middle School
- Upper School
Chuck Felts ‘71 had planned to be out of town this past weekend. But for several weeks his grandson Royce, a McCallie Middle School sixth grader, had been imploring him, “Papa, I really want you to be at Grandparents' Day.”
So on Friday, March 20, Felts did just that, joining close to 160 sixth grade grandparents and 300 more grandparents who were on campus attending similar programs for Upper School ninth graders and seniors.
“It was interesting, from my perspective, how much they (grandsons) wanted us to be there,” said Felts.” And just to see Royce in that environment, how much he loves McCallie after only seven months, how many good friends he’s made. He’s still such a little fella, but he’s growing so much. It’s very impressive.”
Steve Lewis ‘77 also attended the Middle School program for his grandson Corbin.
“Just getting to spend time with my grandson made the day worth it,” said Lewis, whose son Josh graduated from McCallie in 1997. “But I was amazed at how articulate these kids are at such a young age. All of a sudden, these little kids have grown up.”
Said Corbin of the experience, “I liked showing my grandfather around because he had never been in the middle school building before. He also saw some friends from his time here he could talk to. I probably liked showing him my classrooms the best.”
Linda Merrion’s son Paul teaches art at McCallie. Her grandsons Peter (8th grade) and Kelly (6th grade) are both Middle School students and live on campus.
“I loved everything about Grandparents Day,” said the Atlanta resident. “I guess what I liked the most was when they sang for us and showed us the projects they were working on. It means a lot to me that they live on campus but love the school so much. McCallie is so special, so great at building boys into men of character and values.”
The turnout was certainly impressive and more than had been predicted.
Said Middle School principal Scotty Jones, “We had planned for 100 grandparents. On Friday morning we added another 24 seats, then saw more people than that who were standing. It was an amazing turnout.”
As the Middle School program got under way Friday morning, Jones asked Robert Felts ‘09, Chuck’s son and Royce’s father, to say a few words about the school and why a third generation of the Felts family was enrolled on the Ridge.
Said Robert, “The real value of McCallie is its values and its constant focus on turning boys into men of character.”
That would surely impress any grandparent watching their grandson grow into adulthood.
- Alumni
- Grandparents
- Students