Our recent Parent Orientation Event was a magical night! Following two years of limited opportunity for socialization, our goal this year was to foster community engagement by creating an intimate event where parents, teachers and staff, and community partners would all interact with each other.
Mahalo to our school chef – Chef Toshi – for preparing dinner for our families. The outdoor venue created a casual, relaxed atmosphere that piqued parents’ interest, validated community and school participants, and really promoted team building among all participants. Following the at-large gathering on the school’s great lawn, where Principal Rufo addressed the attendees and introduced our school pastor, Father Frankie and her leadership team, the remaining of the evening was spent visiting teachers and reacquainting (and for some – first time exploring ) campus life!
In the outdoor sustainable garden reception area, we were entertained by student violinists. Parents visited various stations: The PTG board highlighted volunteer opportunities for parents—homeroom parents, celebrations, events on monthly or other school themes, and so on. Informal conversations held by the art, music, world language, and physical and health education teachers addressed creativity, collaboration, scope and sequence in the curriculum, and grade-level benchmarks. The school nurse promoted the health and wellness program for the school community and our Youth and Young Adult Ministry shared various opportunities for our keiki. Parents also enjoyed writing messages to their children with their wishes for the upcoming school year on the parent graffiti walls. The evening capped off back in the homerooms where parents were given an opportunity for any additional Q & A. The evening’s agenda fit perfectly into the school’s mindset of building community and the administration, teachers, staff, and parents loved it.
