Back to School Night
Purpose of the Back to School Night
Back to school night is upon us next week. We will have our school building full of curious and happy parents willing
to hear about all the amazing learning opportunities CA Elementary School has to offer daily basis.
The purpose of the Back to School Night is to help parents to learn to know their teachers, daily routines
in the classroom, develop a sense that their children are cared for, provide an overview of the kinds of learning is
taking place in their classroom, and that they know their role as parents in supporting their child's learning.
Back to School Night is a unique opportunity for us to demonstrate the core values of the school and the IB PYP.
The time is limited, so we have to be effective and succinct with our communication. Let's think about our audience,
their background, and the expectations for our event. The schedule and venues will be decided and shared shortly.
Agenda for the teachers' presentation should include at least the following:
- Introduction of all the teachers and assistants in the grade level (classroom, EAL, LS, LSA, TA)
- Overview of the daily routines for learning, school's policy on
homework,
Student Handbook
classroom expectations for behavior (seating, movement, learning together, talking to each other,
what may social & independent learning look like, the organization of the material and equipment etc.)
- General and practical information about Units of Inquiry, language, and math programs
- Suggestions/ideas on how to best support their child at home
- When/how do the parents hear about their child's progress, ES reporting cycle
- What is their role as parents in supporting their child's learning (Dos and Don'ts)
- How to find information, classroom pages, CA website, Student Handbook
- Provide a handout including pertinent information shared in the presentation and post it on the class websites
- Take photos of the evening to be shared on the class website.
Presentation guidelines:
General guidelines:
- Collaborative planning and presentation to ensure a common message
- Classroom teachers decide how much time is spent together and how much separately
- All teachers should have an opportunity to speak to the whole group of parents apprx the same amount of time
- It is important to give parents the opportunity to spend time in their child's classroom even if it was
only a few minutes in the end
- Consider, whether the students would write/draw a message to their parents and/or vice versa
- Heikki will announce changes as well as when the BTSN are over via PA system.
Suggestions for effective presentations:
- Interactive, positive, avoid lecturing
- If you use slide shows avoid text-heavy slides
- Prefer demonstrations and/or games over lengthy explanations
- Consider having a brief slideshow/video of the students/teachers in the grade level/class
- Use exit cards or similar activity to gauge Q&A
- Encourage and offer separate appointment times for individual parent questions/concerns
- If you want your parents to know more about certain areas of learning, consider providing home readings e.g.
Growth Mindset, Positive Discipline, Learning through Inquiry, Bridges, Reading & Writing, EAL acquisition.
Logistical Support
Signs will be posted in hallways
Kae, Yoshiko will help parents to navigate between the different places
BTSN schedule copied to parents
