I can't stand that MCPS changed it so high schoolers can't go and preview their schedules and catch up with friends.

I know tons of families that arranged their summer schedules to be back for the open house that was always the Thursday before school starts. But this year it is on Monday at our ES.

Families have to start making summer plans in December/January. No reason MCPS can't just set a day for the open house and have school stick to that or at the very least require schools to announce the date by December 1.

Anonymous wrote:Did the new super change it so there is no more open house anymore where kids can meet their teacher or walk through their schedules? What a terrible change.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/105/1283263.page

I am just curious for the schools doing open house during the transition day how that will work from a security standpoint? Will every adult who arrives scan in and get a badge? How do you account for the free flow of adults/other family members and the kids in your control who are there without parents vis a vis safety and security?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in an elementary school - our open house is in the afternoon on the transition day.

So what’s happening with the transition day kids during that time? I thought the whole point of Taylor’s grand plan was that every school did the same thing? What a waste! Should have kept the open house and orientation so that the first real day of school for MSDE purposes could be 8/25

Different poster, but our school is doing the same thing. Presumably the kindergarteners will be in their classrooms with their kindergarten teachers, unaffected by the 1st-5th graders going to their own separate new classrooms for open house I guess it might be slightly weird for any kids in the upper grades who have been there all day because they're new to the school, but not that weird... I'm sure they can handle having the rest of their class show up to join them in their classroom and having things be a tiny bit repetitive. Not sure what your concern is here?

Yes, it’s not clear to me what they are doing on transition day and I work at an MCPS school.

Anonymous wrote:I work in an elementary school - our open house is in the afternoon on the transition day.

So what’s happening with the transition day kids during that time? I thought the whole point of Taylor’s grand plan was that every school did the same thing? What a waste! Should have kept the open house and orientation so that the first real day of school for MSDE purposes could be 8/25

Anonymous wrote:Complete waste of time and useless. The school and teachers need to record their spiel on video and make it as comprehensive and clear as possible. Send emails to the parents with links to videos for each grade and subject.

If you call parents to BTS - you need to have all your clubs and signups, all the PTA stuff and membership, all discipline standards, rules of conduct, all medical forms etc, etc....completely laid out for them.

School districts in VA call this “Registration Day” and it’s typically the week before school starts for this exact purpose. MCPs can’t get that organized. And how else would they get you to download 5,000 apps to track your kid’s grades, bus , and see what’s for lunch?!

Anonymous wrote:Our school still has it- it is Friday afternoon just like it always has been.

Ours has always been on Thursday. It’s on Friday this year.

Anonymous wrote:Did the new super change it so there is no more open house anymore where kids can meet their teacher or walk through their schedules? What a terrible change.

It got moved to transition day at our elementary school!

In my experience, middle and high school BTS nights have all followed the same structure: a large meeting in the auditorium/cafeteria, followed by brief class periods where parents follow the student's schedule and see slideshows from each teacher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to school night at the HS i work at is next Thursday during preservice week

That is crazy! Who does BTSN before classes even begin? Have schedules even settled?

High School Back to School Night is very different than it is at the Elementary and even Middle School levels.

How is it different from BTSN for middle school?

My middle school Back to School Night last year wasn't even held at the school. We held it at the HS and it was Back to School Night for the whole cluster. Teachers were not required to attend. It essentially was a 30 minute presentation in the auditorium and tables set up in the cafeteria with various resources for families. Maybe like 10 families showed up the whole night

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to school night at the HS i work at is next Thursday during preservice week

That is crazy! Who does BTSN before classes even begin? Have schedules even settled?

High School Back to School Night is very different than it is at the Elementary and even Middle School levels.

How is it different from BTSN for middle school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to school night at the HS i work at is next Thursday during preservice week

That is crazy! Who does BTSN before classes even begin? Have schedules even settled?

High School Back to School Night is very different than it is at the Elementary and even Middle School levels.

Anonymous wrote:Back to school night at the HS i work at is next Thursday during preservice week

That is crazy! Who does BTSN before classes even begin? Have schedules even settled?