Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 17:46     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wish APS had stuck with zoom BTSN. It’s such a clusterf*ck and always during the first week of school when preschools, other schools schedule them, scouts starts up, sports begin, etc. I much prefer listening with AirPods while sitting with my kids. Nothing is earth shattering, and there’s no need to be there in person.


I agree. The BTSN online was so convenient.


For ES this makes sense. But not for
MS or HS when it’s the ONLY time you meet all the teachers, because they don’t come to P/T conferences. Those are with only their home room teacher and I really appreciated being able to meet my kids’ actual teachers. Gave me a lot of insight into why one kid was asking to transfer classes.


Agree. It’s the tiniest of snippets, but I will take what I can get in middle school.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 11:02     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:I wish APS had stuck with zoom BTSN. It’s such a clusterf*ck and always during the first week of school when preschools, other schools schedule them, scouts starts up, sports begin, etc. I much prefer listening with AirPods while sitting with my kids. Nothing is earth shattering, and there’s no need to be there in person.


I agree. The BTSN online was so convenient.


For ES this makes sense. But not for
MS or HS when it’s the ONLY time you meet all the teachers, because they don’t come to P/T conferences. Those are with only their home room teacher and I really appreciated being able to meet my kids’ actual teachers. Gave me a lot of insight into why one kid was asking to transfer classes.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2023 10:53     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Single mom who loved virtual BTSN. Bring back the virtual BTSN!
Anonymous
Post 08/30/2023 16:00     Subject: Re:APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If they did zoom I wouldn’t bother and maybe others wouldn’t either. Total waste of time. Just look at slides.

There is value in seeing the environment they’re in daily and meeting the actual humans who spend time with them all day. If you can’t make it work, look at the slides.


Agree. It's much more useful to see where your students spend their days.


At our school last year all classes per grade were combined and the meetings were held in common spaces (library, gym) rather than classrooms - if it were in the classroom, I could see it offering a benefit, but most teachers are SUPER nervous and read verbatim from their slides, so not much value added


Some just showed videos. Why did I leave my house to go to school in person during the evening just to see a video?

Another vote for virtual BTSN here.
Anonymous
Post 08/30/2023 15:53     Subject: Re:APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I was planning to go and just have my kids (3rd and 1st grade) play on the playground for an hour. Would that not be allowed?


In the dark?


My kids walk to the playground from our house all the time. What’s the difference if I’m inside the building for B2SN. We live around the block. Sun doesn’t set until 7:30. They’ll be fine. Do people not allow their kids to walk to nearby playgrounds on their own??


OP ignore others. Folks level of worry and supervision is way higher than recommended or is actually good for kids and their confidence. There was just an article in the atlantic on this.


+1 It's fine. But I still think it's best to have one parent stay at home if you're not single/it's workable. I don't think the information is so important that it requires the presence of two parents.
Anonymous
Post 08/30/2023 15:31     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:Funny how equitable APS is on some things and other things there’s consideration for. I’ve complained about this for a couple years now, but I just have to either skip or pay for a sitter.


Talk to your PTA. Ours often hosts babysitting in the gym. They hire a few extended day workers to stay late and pay them. I'm not sure how they work it out, but they do.
Anonymous
Post 08/30/2023 12:27     Subject: Re:APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I was planning to go and just have my kids (3rd and 1st grade) play on the playground for an hour. Would that not be allowed?


In the dark?


My kids walk to the playground from our house all the time. What’s the difference if I’m inside the building for B2SN. We live around the block. Sun doesn’t set until 7:30. They’ll be fine. Do people not allow their kids to walk to nearby playgrounds on their own??


OP ignore others. Folks level of worry and supervision is way higher than recommended or is actually good for kids and their confidence. There was just an article in the atlantic on this.
Anonymous
Post 08/30/2023 12:23     Subject: Re:APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If they did zoom I wouldn’t bother and maybe others wouldn’t either. Total waste of time. Just look at slides.

There is value in seeing the environment they’re in daily and meeting the actual humans who spend time with them all day. If you can’t make it work, look at the slides.


Agree. It's much more useful to see where your students spend their days.


At our school last year all classes per grade were combined and the meetings were held in common spaces (library, gym) rather than classrooms - if it were in the classroom, I could see it offering a benefit, but most teachers are SUPER nervous and read verbatim from their slides, so not much value added
Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 14:10     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:This comes up every year. Why can't APS find another solutions that will accommodate families with one parent or who have night jobs, etc.


It's not required attendance. I do think many teachers will provide you with any slides that you missed. Our class often has a few Type A parents who take a few notes and pass them along our parent chats for those who missed.

While I like BTSN because I want to get to know the teachers a bit better, and get a feel for expectations my child might not pass along, I can't imagine we'd be too far behind without it.
Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 14:06     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
I wish APS had stuck with zoom BTSN. It’s such a clusterf*ck and always during the first week of school when preschools, other schools schedule them, scouts starts up, sports begin, etc. I much prefer listening with AirPods while sitting with my kids. Nothing is earth shattering, and there’s no need to be there in person.


I agree. The BTSN online was so convenient.
Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 13:31     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This comes up every year. Why can't APS find another solutions that will accommodate families with one parent or who have night jobs, etc.


So if they have it during the day, people with day jobs can’t go. When do you propose it happens?

I’m a teacher and we always send out the slideshow after to everyone. If you can’t come the information will be disseminated. Please don’t bring your kids. If you have 2 parents have one stay home with kids.


I wish APS had stuck with zoom BTSN. It’s such a clusterf*ck and always during the first week of school when preschools, other schools schedule them, scouts starts up, sports begin, etc. I much prefer listening with AirPods while sitting with my kids. Nothing is earth shattering, and there’s no need to be there in person.


I know - it’s crazy that they lived virtual school and how people begged for it but something as mundane as back to school night demands an in person presence



The ZOOM method of BTSN was a disasterous experience. When you're sent the wrong link for a class, you can't get in to your child's actual class session. If they know about the problem and the wrong teacher provides the correct link, the session is half over by the time you get in to the correct session. You can't hear everything when a teacher can't stop shuffling papers by their mic and the chat log is a distraction that you don't really want to turn off because there's inevitably an "I'll post the link in the chat"

If they're going to do it virtually, they should extend the length of each class session. In person, if one session runs over and you're late to the next, at least you have an opportunity to pickup the paperwork or quickly ask the teacher a question before rushing off to the next session, if you're even going to the next session. You can also sneak in a few minutes here and there before or after either with a specific teacher or just looking around the classroom or the building.
Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 12:09     Subject: Re:APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:If they did zoom I wouldn’t bother and maybe others wouldn’t either. Total waste of time. Just look at slides.

There is value in seeing the environment they’re in daily and meeting the actual humans who spend time with them all day. If you can’t make it work, look at the slides.


Agree. It's much more useful to see where your students spend their days.
Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 07:33     Subject: Re:APS: Back to School Night
If they did zoom I wouldn’t bother and maybe others wouldn’t either. Total waste of time. Just look at slides.

There is value in seeing the environment they’re in daily and meeting the actual humans who spend time with them all day. If you can’t make it work, look at the slides.
Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 07:23     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This comes up every year. Why can't APS find another solutions that will accommodate families with one parent or who have night jobs, etc.


So if they have it during the day, people with day jobs can’t go. When do you propose it happens?

I’m a teacher and we always send out the slideshow after to everyone. If you can’t come the information will be disseminated. Please don’t bring your kids. If you have 2 parents have one stay home with kids.


I wish APS had stuck with zoom BTSN. It’s such a clusterf*ck and always during the first week of school when preschools, other schools schedule them, scouts starts up, sports begin, etc. I much prefer listening with AirPods while sitting with my kids. Nothing is earth shattering, and there’s no need to be there in person.


I know - it’s crazy that they lived virtual school and how people begged for it but something as mundane as back to school night demands an in person presence

Anonymous
Post 08/28/2023 01:29     Subject: APS: Back to School Night
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This comes up every year. Why can't APS find another solutions that will accommodate families with one parent or who have night jobs, etc.


So if they have it during the day, people with day jobs can’t go. When do you propose it happens?

I’m a teacher and we always send out the slideshow after to everyone. If you can’t come the information will be disseminated. Please don’t bring your kids. If you have 2 parents have one stay home with kids.


I wish APS had stuck with zoom BTSN. It’s such a clusterf*ck and always during the first week of school when preschools, other schools schedule them, scouts starts up, sports begin, etc. I much prefer listening with AirPods while sitting with my kids. Nothing is earth shattering, and there’s no need to be there in person.