Kelsey Choe, Editor
September 5, 2014
Teachers and parents were very excited for this year’s Back to School Night on September 2, 2014. The parents met the teachers, saw student work on display in classrooms, and learned about this year’s curriculum. 7th grade parent Mrs. Kuz explains, “I think Back to School Night is important because it gives the parents an opportunity to see what their kids go through everyday. I also think it opens up communication between teachers and parents, which I think is the best way for their kids to have success.” By the end of the evening Mrs. Kuz reveals that she was excited to meet the teachers and “walk through [her] daughter’s daily routine.” She states, “I have a better understanding for the day at the school. I thought the campus was very easy to navigate and I liked how the eighth graders and seventh graders were separate. The campus is very clean and orderly.”
Teachers and parents met on this day to review how they can work together to ensure the success of the students and establish a strong connection of communication, collaboration, and teamwork. “Back to School Night is important because its goals are similar to a ‘huddle’ for a football team. You want to communicate the goal or ‘play’ before you snap the ball to start the game. Educating students requires teamwork and a partnership between parents, teachers, and students. Back to School Night is a time for the teachers and parents to communicate the ways to share these goals and ensure a successful year for the students,” explains Mrs. Kim. Though their time is limited, teachers value the opportunity to create an open dialogue and communicate with parents because it helps establish a stronger learning foundation for students. In order to ensure students reach their full potential, a strong connection between parents and teachers must be established early and maintained throughout the school year.
Mrs. Kim explains her objective for the evening: “I want to give parents a clear understanding of the changes in the math curriculum and its rigorous aspects, while striking down the misinformation about the Common Core State Standards that is being fed to the public by the media and uninformed, biased groups.” After her presentation, Mrs. Kim adss, “Parents were impressed by how challenging the new standards are and how such a rigorous curriculum will challenge the students to be better prepared for advanced math courses and other advanced subjects such as chemistry and physics in high school and beyond.”
Mrs. Terry explains, “I hope to accomplish an open line of communication at Back to School Night and let the parents know that I am here for them and their child’s success and to help them build a brighter future. I think this event will help me as a teacher because it’s going to help me better understand the background of my students and I also think that it will help when parents offer suggestions of how to make improvements, specifically with their child. It will really help me get to know my students better.”
Engaged parents listen to Mr. Richie
as he reviews his classroom procedures.
By the end of the evening both teachers and parents were very pleased with their experience and excited about the school year. “I loved meeting the teachers and I thought they were very excited about the new year and very energetic. They also have a very good outlook on teaching seventh grade,” explains Mrs. Kuz. Teachers were also very enthusiastic about meeting their students’ parents. Ms. Terry reflects on the night and says, “Back to School Night was a huge success and I was thrilled to meet all the parents, and I can’t wait to continue watching their kids grow.” Overall, Back to School Night was a huge success, in which parents were able to meet their child’s teachers’ and understand what is in store for their child this school year and beyond.
