Back to School Night offers chance to meet teachers, get questions answered
Teacher Christian Cooper entertained several parents during Back to School Night.
Photo by Cassidy Menesez
Returning to school can be exciting, stressful, and everything in between. Not only for students, but parents too. Everything is new: new classes, new teachers, and maybe even a new school. Parents are curious about these new experiences their students will face, so they attended Back to School Night on Tuesday, Aug. 20 to get important information about what their students’ courses will be like.
The Back to School Night event was created so parents and guardians are able to visit their students’ classrooms and meet their teachers. Although the event is mainly for parents, students are also encouraged to attend. English teacher Ms. Harrison said, “It’s important for parents to be able to ask questions and express their concerns early in the school year to avoid problems that might occur later. Some parents just like to meet the teachers and see where their kids will be attending.”
To start the night off, students and parents met in the gymnasium at 5:30 for an introduction and welcome speech by administration. They learned about the school and the upcoming year from Principal Mr. Neely, Vice Principals Mr. Allen and Dr. Madding, Athletic Director Sam DeRose, the four guidance counselors, and other administrative staff. After this introduction, parents/guardians and their students were released to go visit classrooms and teachers.
To ensure that parents/guardians were able to visit all of their students’ teachers, the event was organized by a bell schedule mimicking the odd day and then even day schedules. Each “period” was ten minutes long, with five minute passing periods in between. Parents/guardians and their students first went to all the odd periods (1, 3, 5, and 7), followed by the even periods (2, 4, and 6). In their classrooms, teachers talked to parents about their expectations for the year and let them know how they could help their students succeed. Kelly Orgeron, a parent who attended, said, “It was nice to learn that the teachers here are so available to help students, and all of them are so enthusiastic about teaching.”
A few clubs/extracurricular groups were also represented at Back to School Night, giving out information about their clubs/teams and trying to recruit new members. The Earth Club had a table set up and offered information about their club’s projects and invited students to join. The Robotics team was also there to give out information and recruit new members. They gave a demonstration of a robot built in past years to show off the team’s success. The ASB Leadership class was there handing out maps of the campus and helping parents/guardians find their students’ classes.
Overall, Back to School Night is an opportunity for parents and guardians to learn about their students classes and campus. Mr. Forte, who is retiring this year, said, “It was a bittersweet moment because it was my last Back to School Night of 35 years of teaching, and the parents are still getting younger.”