Ours was good. We were greeted in the front, given a number of forms, packets for the kids, etc. then the kids were welcomed and taken back to a classroom where they went from center to centers (playdoh, blocks, letters, etc) where the teachers evaluated them. Parents sat in the back of the room and watched, or ducked out to go speak with the nurse or school admin. There was a seperate informational meeting/school tour for parents on another night. They also took pictures of all the kids, and my son was greeted by name by the principall on the first day of school.

I was recently at a meeting with the principal where she was discussing their class placement process, and she really emphasized how important that 'snapshot' they get of each child at orientation is when making up the class composition for the following year (which they do immediately after the orientation day). Basically, they're trying to balance ages, academic preparation, ESOL, quiet/boisterous personalities etc. in each class and orientation is their one window into that for the kindergarteners.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow! These posts are making me more appreciative of our ES's program.

Hi,

Can you please share what your ES is doing?

I posted earlier. 19:27. It wasn't genius or anything, but it was a productive and effective hour.

Wow. 22:39 here. My kid was taken to see the classrooms and he said they played different games and he had a great time. In the meantime the principal, school nurse, and a few teachers did a presentation for parents about what to expect and opened the floor for questions. It was great.

Anonymous wrote:Wow! These posts are making me more appreciative of our ES's program.

Hi,

Can you please share what your ES is doing?

Wow! These posts are making me more appreciative of our ES's program.

Anonymous wrote:A total waste of time. Spent literally 30 seconds turning in forms which were 100% complete. They took my kid downstairs while I waited upstairs with nothing to do. She was away for about 10 minutes and told me they asked her to line up and write her name and that was basically it.
Super annoyed I had to miss work for that. They could have at least had a tour for parents or something. The principal wasn't around and neither were any of the other administrators.

That was exactly how ours went. A huge waste of time. We were in the school for all of 15min.

Anonymous wrote:Hate that I have to scramble for 2 days of care for my kindergartener.

How about you spent some time with them. Geez!

Anonymous wrote:A total waste of time. Spent literally 30 seconds turning in forms which were 100% complete. They took my kid downstairs while I waited upstairs with nothing to do. She was away for about 10 minutes and told me they asked her to line up and write her name and that was basically it.
Super annoyed I had to miss work for that. They could have at least had a tour for parents or something. The principal wasn't around and neither were any of the other administrators.

Give feedback to the school. They can do better than that!

Every school does it differently and it's changed tremendously over the years. I remember when they used to assess kids-- they would see if your child could read and at what level, etc. I suggest leaving feedback to your school about the process, they will probably factor that into what they do moving forward if they hear from parents. We got a tour of the school and met the teachers. DD said her favorite part was going to the art class and meeting that teacher. She was disappointed when I told her that the art teacher would not be her Kindergarten teacher next year.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, minimal benefit to kids offset by huge inconvenience to working parents. Think the whole concept is dumb and just about getting parents in the door so schools can get teacher allotment.

Getting the correct teacher allotment seems like a more than minimal benefit to the kids. Or would you prefer an enormous class because parents registered their children after all the money was gone?

Anonymous wrote:A total waste of time. Spent literally 30 seconds turning in forms which were 100% complete. They took my kid downstairs while I waited upstairs with nothing to do. She was away for about 10 minutes and told me they asked her to line up and write her name and that was basically it.
Super annoyed I had to miss work for that. They could have at least had a tour for parents or something. The principal wasn't around and neither were any of the other administrators.

Wow. 22:39 here. My kid was taken to see the classrooms and he said they played different games and he had a great time. In the meantime the principal, school nurse, and a few teachers did a presentation for parents about what to expect and opened the floor for questions. It was great.

A total waste of time. Spent literally 30 seconds turning in forms which were 100% complete. They took my kid downstairs while I waited upstairs with nothing to do. She was away for about 10 minutes and told me they asked her to line up and write her name and that was basically it.
Super annoyed I had to miss work for that. They could have at least had a tour for parents or something. The principal wasn't around and neither were any of the other administrators.

Yeah, minimal benefit to kids offset by huge inconvenience to working parents. Think the whole concept is dumb and just about getting parents in the door so schools can get teacher allotment.

Hate that I have to scramble for 2 days of care for my kindergartener.

Ours was organized, timed well, kept the kids busy and entertained, etc. It was good.

What did you love and hate about your schools orientation process?