Open house began at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening at CHS9 as parents eagerly searched for their students’ classrooms, resembling the first day of school.

Teachers planned activities for parents to learn more about what their students will be learning in the 2022-23 school year. 

“We provide the syllabus, contact information, information on how to access Schoology and all of the content we are going to cover during class,” CHS9 Honors Biology teacher Hannah Dooley said.

Open house centered around reinforcing a strong connection between parents and teachers after two years of virtual open house.

“Last year, we just recorded a video and posted it where parents could go and watch it, so there really was no personal connection at all,” Dooley said.

Parents were able to view a glimpse of the type of content their children will cover in their classes through QR code stations with sample questions relating to the class subject.

“In our biology classroom, we have some microscopes set up for parents with some unknown specimens on them, and parents can try and guess what kind of organism they are. We also have a QR code up on the board where parents can scan and find out if they’re smarter than a ninth grade biology student,” Dooley said.

Parents were provided with general information about how their child’s courses will be structured for the year, as well as supplemental resources such as accessing Schoology and textbooks. 

“I got to know what [the students] will be learning this nine weeks, how the exams and summative grades will be [structured], and resources [for parents],” CHS9 parent Rekha Baisani said.

Parents were free to move in and out of classrooms, making stops along each of their child’s classrooms to ask questions and meet the teacher. A key part of curriculum night is demonstrating the atmosphere of the school district and community outside of classrooms.

“Establishing those relationships with parents and students and meeting them, answering their questions, and talking about the vision of CHS9 and our classrooms is also important,” AP Human Geography teacher Chris Caussey said.

Some common questions parents asked:

• What is this class about?
• What types of concepts are covered?
• What is the purpose of the AP Human Geography exam?
• What type of content will be taught daily?
• How can I contact the teacher with questions that arise during the school year?

Building personal relationships was the main objective of this year’s in-person open house, and effective education results from the mutual understanding between teachers, parents and students.

“Good education happens at school and at home, so it is nice to have the parent and the teacher meet with one another and really see this year as a partnership by supporting their child, so parents attending [open house] helps solidify that partnership,” Dooley said.

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