The communication between parent and teacher is a very important one, especially when it comes to a student’s education, and a great way to strengthen this relationship is at FHN’s annual open house. This event occurs at the start of every school year and serves as a place where parents can obtain more information about their child’s classes and get a better idea of what lies ahead in the upcoming school year. This year the event is being on August 15 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m, throughout FHN.

“I think if a parent has any general questions or has a student that might need any special attention, then it’s a perfect place to alert the teacher and starts that relationship between them,” Communication Arts teacher Amy Stoker said.

In previous years Open House was an emulation of a student’s school schedule. Parents would be able to attend presentations that lasted seven minutes. A bell would ring signaling that it was time to move to the next teacher’s presentation. Although this system was efficient in seeing students families on a mass scale, it lacked any sort of personal means of conversation with the teachers. Parents couldn’t privately meet with teachers and discuss concerns for their child. Dr. Nathan Hostetler was appointed as Head Principal of FHN and has aimed to make beneficial changes to FHN. One of them was revamping Open House to make it more accessible for parents and teachers alike. This new system functions similar to conferences, Parents will assemble in the gym and will be allowed to openly go to any teacher’s room in the building. Allowing parents to prioritize teachers they need to meet with.

“In the past parents had your schedule, the bell would ring every seven minutes,” Stoker said. “This year it’s truly an open house where our rooms will be open and parents can just come and go as they want.”

Overall, Open House should have parents leaving with a positive understanding of what their students will experience this year. Parents will have the opportunity to ask questions, have the questions answered, get to know the teachers and what their child will be engaged in while in class. The next time the parents and teachers meet will be at parent teacher conferences in September.

“It’s a great opportunity for parents to get any questions answered that they may still have about classes, the year, or the school,” Dean of Students Steve Moorman said. “Hopefully we can make nervous students more at ease and create a best opportunity for them.”