Open House Night And....????

So tonight is our open house, which is a bit of a circus.  Parents secure their students schedules and then they are ushered through their student's schedule for the day - seeing each of their child's teachers for an eight-minute class period.  And what exactly can be accomplished in eight minutes?

Not much.

The evening is light hearted and a good way for parents to match names with faces and say hello, and perhaps meet any/all teachers that are new to the building.  They often appear just as confused and their kids as they wander the halls and read the classroom numbers to attempt to get to the right classroom at the right time.  Perhaps it's good that no tardies are issued at this event.

For my part, because junior year is so "test heavy", I usually discuss that.  And then I direct the parents to my website for other information like course guidelines and course syllabus.  So I try to utilize my eight minutes to its potential.

I do appreciate the format, even though, it's tough to cram a lot into and eight minute presentation.  An alternative would be to have teachers there for a couple of hours and allow parents to wander around and hope they will be able to see respective teachers.  Plus, it's not very courteous to ask parents to leave because a line is forming outside the door with parents waiting patiently to have a few minutes to chat.  Timing isn't great, as a 7:00 p.m. start means I have to walk back to the school, but a late start is needed so teachers can be available after practices.

And to be honest, I enjoy a brief opportunity to meet parents and express my appreciation for their efforts and let them know that the school year is off to a good start.  For me, too, I sometimes run into a child of someone I went to school with or worse yet perhaps coached or taught in previous year - further indication that I'm no young buck anymore.

AND????

A couple of tidbits...after a conversation from a colleague that had read my blog...

1) If you see a mistake...spelling, grammar, etc....please send me a message at jbizarri@rr300.org.  I don't pour over these blog posts for errors, so I won't be offended at all.  In fact I will appreciate your assistance.

2) Yes, the mystery of the dropping water level in our pool was solved.  There was a hole behind the light that was allowing water to drain out instead of staying in the light capsule.  We had a diver come out to the house and discover the hole, and I learned even more about pool maintenance.  The diver said the next time we get a liner we should just fill in the light because it can cause too many potential problems.

3) Finally, if there was something else left as a mystery that wasn't updated...shout at me and tell me to either update the post or provide the final answer in a future post.  I don't want to leave any cliffhangers unsolved!