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By Jed Nelson

As the school year comes to an end, it’s important to give back to students that have displayed hard work and perseverance. It’s equally important to give a big ‘thank you’ to parents and guardians that have made sacrifices or donated their time and energy helping with school-wide events. 

With the help of the Grand Meadow Education Foundation covering the cost, and the Grand Meadow Fire Department donating their time and grills, Grand Meadow Public School put on their Pancakes with Pals breakfast in the school’s Legacy Gym Friday morning. 

“This is the second year that we’ve done Pancakes with Pals,” Grand Meadow Preschool and ECFE teacher Paige Ulwelling said. “We had done events like Moms & Muffins and wanted to keep doing things like that but expand it a bit.” 

Last year, the attendance of the breakfast left Ulwelling blown away. That’s due in part to students’ pride in their school. 

“We had such a great turnout last year. It’s super cool for these students to show off their school,” Ulwelling said. 

Students young and old are able to pick and choose who their Pal can be. Being able to have one to two Pals per person, each student filled the gym with a number of their loved ones. 

To Ulwelling, the goal of Pancakes with Pals is simple: to bring families together. 

“It allows for an opportunity to have a large number of families come to school,” Ulwelling said. “It also leads to greater community involvement.”

The goal that was set for Pancakes with Pals was accomplished. A line of students and their family members waiting for their breakfast snaked through the gym and ended out in the hallway. Some tables had parents that were reading stories to their children – and these children looked on and listened as if that moment was going to play on repeat in their heads all day. 

For these students, a Pal can be anyone. But Ulwelling finds that the family wins out each time.

“Family members are often chosen as Pals over anyone else,” Ulwelling said. “Even with the opportunity to pick and choose, it’s usually family that gets chosen as Pals.”