Open House or Meet the Teacher?
Posted by Sharon M. Tresino on 27 Aug 2009 | Posted in: Classroom Routines, Teachers and Teaching
As I drove to work one day last week, I passed an elementary school with a sign out front signaling that open house was scheduled for that afternoon. It caught me by surprise because school has not yet started here. I always thought of open house taking place a few weeks into the school year. It was a time for parents to visit the classroom, ask questions, and learn about routines and the curriculum for that grade. So I figured that the open house I saw advertised was probably what I would have thought of as Meet the Teacher Day—a chance for the kids to meet their teachers before school starts. I brought this up to a few of my coworkers and we all seemed to have had different experiences. That’s why I’ve decided to ask you: do you have both events at your school? And what do you call them? I’m curious!
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57 Responses to “Open House or Meet the Teacher?”
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More Comments Pages: « 1 2 3 [4] 5 » Show All Comments
Our Open House is the second week of school. My building is K-2 so everyone gathers in the gym to hear the principal say a few words and introduce the staff to everyone. Then parents can go to their child’s classroom. Some teachers talk in their rooms while others just walk around and chat with parents. Children can come that night and show their parents their classroom, seat, and all the other neat things in our building. I have folders at each child’s seat of information about the class and classroom. I give parents our daily schedule, our special classes we go to (art, gym, music, computers & library) our school pledge, a list of kids in our class and a copy of our reading, math, science & social studies curriculum. We usually have a good turnout.
I teach 4K, and we have an Open House usually 1-2 weeks before the beginning of the school year. Parents and children are welcome to join us for some refreshments and to drop off supplies and explore the room. It is a lot of fun! We have conferences in November (as part of the school district), and then I have some very informal family activities, like a dinner and movie get-together.
At our Preschool we are trying something new this year called a “Meet and Greet.” This day is taking place the day before school starts. it is a chance for the parents and students to come to the school, find their cubbies, meet the teachers, check out the room and toys, etc. Parents are more than welcome to ask any lingering questions about the start of school. we are hoping that this eases the transition into Day one for the students …and the parents.
we usually have Back to School Night a few weeks after the start of the school year for just the parents to attend to talk about the curriculum and routines, etc.
Our Back To School Night is the night before the first day of school, but then again we have 3 and 4 year old kids! It’s a good chance for the kids and parents to see the room before school starts so ease those first day of school jitters. We don’t get a ton of time to speak with the parents, but I still think it’s a good chance for the children to get ready for school.
We do conferences about 2 months into school so we use that time to talk to the parents about their progress. It works pretty well!
I wish we had these evenings. Our preschool doesn’t have any kind of parent meetings.
We have a meet the teacher time the week before school for students and families to see their classroom, meet their teachers, fill out any forms, and just familiarize themselves with the school. We also have a parent orientation the night before school starts to go over policies, rules, procedures, etc.
In February we have an open house/carnival event for families in and outside of the school to see our classrooms and curriculum, and paly a lot of games.
We have “Meet the Teacher” a few days before school starts, so the kids can see where their room is and bring their supplies to school. We pass out first day of school info at that time, stuff like transportation the first week, student info sheets, and procedures and contact info for me.
We have “Open House” in February to show off how the rooms have changed and what kinds of activities we are doing then.
We have what we call an Open House one evening before school starts. At this time parents and students are able to meet the teacher, find their desk and locker and unpack their school supplies. The parents are also able to fill out any forms that need to be filled out and put money in their child’s lunch account. The classroom teachers provide information about classroom events/routines/policies etc. This makes our first day of school run smoothly. At my own children’s school they have what they call “Open Entrance Conferences” Each family schedules a time within a 2 day time frame to meet with the teacher. The teacher is able to discuss things about the classroom etc. with individual families. Parents also are able to discuss any concerns etc. The students are able to meet the teacher/bring in their supplies and see what they will be doing throughout the year.
At my school, open house has been scheduled earlier and earlier with each passing year. This school year we had it on the third week and it was a time to meet the teacher as well as receive information about the classroom rules, procedures, etc. Personally, having an extra event to “meet the teacher” would be too much! Open house is plenty to prepare for!
My school does both. We have “Meet the Teacher” a couple of days before school starts. This gives parents and children the opportunity to meet their child’s teacher in a casual, relax atmosphere. Children are also encouraged to bring their school supplies and place them in the classroom. A few weeks after school begins, we have Open House. This is mainly for parents. This is a time for teachers to explain curriculum, expectations, routine, answer general questions, etc.
We are a preschool and we have “Open House” more as a meet the teacher & enrollment opportunity for new families. We have them on Saturdays every couple months. Current families are encouraged to come & new. Its a chance for the teachers to be available with out having to be responsible for children.
In our preschool, we have Meet the Teacher, Group Parent Conferences and Open House. Meet the Teacher occurs for one hour the week before school starts. The parents and kids bring supplies and then have 30 minutes of greet and meet everyone. Then the parents go to a short meeting with the Director and I spend 30 minutes with just the kids. Group Parent Conferences occur 1-2 weeks into the school and it is a chance for me to meet with all my parents at one time and discuss important items that will occur throughout the school year, curriculum, and discipline. Then Open House happens around the time of Spring Break and we display as much of the kids recent art work and academic work as possible and it is a time for the kids to bring their family and extended family to see their school and what they have learned throughout the year. I like this progression of meetings and look forward to it every year.