what is Back to School Night?

[Jeannie in NJ]

this is the first time that one of my dc has been in school. It is my son and he is in 5th grade. Anyway, Back to School Night is this Thurs. I have never heard of this, what exactly is it and what should I expect?

[LizzyBee]

It's an opportunity for him to meet his teacher and see his classroom in an attempt to reduce the first-day-of-school anxiety that some students feel.

[littlefamily]

We are also new to PS and just attended our first back to school night last night. Ours included about 30 minutes of overview from the principal and the president of the home and school organization. Then 30 minutes in the class with the teacher giving an overview of her learning objectives.

I think it was worth it to have some time with the teacher. We could ask questions and it did help us understand some of the expectations.

On the more humorous side....

The note announcing the event stated, "Please leave all children at home, we find we can accomplish more without the students/siblings."

During the principal's portion, he spoke about the school's test scores and goals for this year. He then showed a slide listing about 25 programs offered at the school to help raise the academic standards of the school and read through the list. He neglected to mention what the programs were and how the children/parents could get involved.

This was of course followed up by the Home & School President speaking about "all the opportunities for involvement". But again no specifics or who or how to find out about these "opportunities".

My husband and I had to chuckle. It was worth it for the time with the teacher, but overall, I know absolutely nothing more about the school or these "wonderful opportunities".

[LizzyBee]

The note announcing the event stated, "Please leave all children at home, we find we can accomplish more without the students/siblings."

Oh, that's interesting. All of our back to school nights were for the students.

[Jen3boys]

When my kids were in ps, Back to School night took place a few weeks after the new school year. The kids would show parents their classroom and some things they'd been doing at school so far. The teacher would give a little talk and was there for informal chatting. We could see the library, sign up for PTA, wander around the school, meet the principal, etc.

[BabyBre]

Ours is called Parent Information Night and is only about 40 minutes spent in the classroom getting the scoop from your child's teacher. We had dd's 2nd grade Info Night last week and tonight is ds's for 1st grade.

I find it useful, even if it is short, to go and ask my questions about the curriculum, standardized testing, how they challenge stronger students, etc. And even though ds has the same teacher dd had last year, I plan to go this year to find out more about the new math they've implemented.

Our school doesn't specifically exclude the children, but they don't provide any activity or anything for them during the meeting. Mine are all old enough to color or draw quietly for that length of time.

[JFS in IL]

Here it is for the parents, and a large part of the time is spend trying to get parents to sign up for PTA etc. and talk of the fundraisers the kids will be doing.

[Jeannie in NJ]

I actually think that the kids are NOT supposed to come with me to our Back to School Night (the info sheet that I received stated for my child to be sure to tell me his homeroom number and his teacher's name so that I, his parent, will know where to go. So that sounds like I am supposed to leave him home. If that is so, I guess it will be just be me going and not dh as someone has to stay home with our dc. What do single parents do?

[Melinda in VT]

We had ours last night for the elementary school. In our case, there is no formal program. The teachers are in their rooms and the students show their parents around. There is also a BBQ, which is a fundraiser for the PTO.

Theoretically, I should be able to talk to the teacher, but my kids are always so excited to show me stuff (and I have two kids in the same class this year, so both of them were talking at once) that the teacher and I usually just smile in passing. I've worked with them all before, so it's not critical that we talk at Back to School night.

The teachers usually have a handout talking about the homework policies, what science and social studies units they'll be studying, a class schedule, and a class list. There is also usually a scavenger hunt or quiz for the parents and kids to fill out together that covers the classroom setup and rules.

[Mallorie]

Ours was last night. This is a new school for us, so I didn't know what to expect either.

Basically, our kids were left at home while we went. We got time with each childs teacher and they gave us a run-down of what our children do during the day, what the routine and schedule is like, and what they are learning. We did have a chance to talk to the teachers about issues we needed to as well.

As our oldest is adjusting to the new level of academics (from public to private Christian), he's been struggling. It's also a small school, and his peers aren't exactly open-arms friendly, and 5th grade in itself is a year of growing. So it felt good to get to talk to the teacher and get their reassurance that all is well, and we are working together as a team.

The night was a huge benefit to us.

[Targhee]

We are also new to PS and just attended our first back to school night last night. Ours included about 30 minutes of overview from the principal and the president of the home and school organization. Then 30 minutes in the class with the teacher giving an overview of her learning objectives.

I think it was worth it to have some time with the teacher. We could ask questions and it did help us understand some of the expectations.

On the more humorous side....

The note announcing the event stated, "Please leave all children at home, we find we can accomplish more without the students/siblings."

During the principal's portion, he spoke about the school's test scores and goals for this year. He then showed a slide listing about 25 programs offered at the school to help raise the academic standards of the school and read through the list. He neglected to mention what the programs were and how the children/parents could get involved.

This was of course followed up by the Home & School President speaking about "all the opportunities for involvement". But again no specifics or who or how to find out about these "opportunities".

My husband and I had to chuckle. It was worth it for the time with the teacher, but overall, I know absolutely nothing more about the school or these "wonderful opportunities".

Were you at my Back to School Night? This is almost exactly what ours was. Really, this was great for me (we decided on PSing at the last minute this year and I already had our HS planned out for the coming year) because I got to see what the educational objectives/strategies/curricula/etc were for the class. Relinquishing some control of my child's education was really hard, and know what they are doing at the school makes it a little easier.