As the school year has just begun, several parents have been curious to see what their child’s life looks like now, not as their own, but as a student. Thursday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m., marked Cherry Hill East’s annual Back to School Night, inviting parents of all East students to visualize a day in the life of their children. That night, East’s parking lot filled up with not students, but parents, eager to engage in their child’s day-to-day life for a couple of hours.
Just like an average school day, the bell rang at around 7 p.m. as parents filed into classrooms. Each “class” lengthened to around ten minutes with five minutes in between. During the ten minutes of class, teachers went through personal introductions, the class curriculum, and more about what each student could expect throughout the year. During this time, parents were able to have their questions answered or simply just be able to put a face to the name.
“I know what the [parents] want to hear, and I know that they’re concerned about their kids and care much about their education,” said East history teacher Mrs. Mikulski.
As a parent herself, Mrs. Mikulski knows and understands each parent’s concerns about their kids and addresses them accordingly. While not all East teachers are parents, all the teachers there are well-versed and experienced in what they educate, guaranteeing every student’s fulfilled education.
In between each class, parents had five minutes to transition. But, as everyone could relate, Cherry Hill East is a rather large school. Thankfully, SGA officers and representatives were around all wings of the area and helped out by making small talk with the parents as they guided them to the right location.
“I can only remember how I felt like that when I was a freshman at orientation, walking the halls for the first time,” said Emma Weiss (‘28), an SGA representative volunteering at Back-to-School Night. Weiss shares how she enjoyed her time “showing the parents around the school and giving them mini tours.”
During this short transition period, East also had its Jazz Standards group filling the hallways with their vibrant music as parents avidly walked to their child’s next classroom.
Standing by East’s main entrance were Dr. Finkle, East’s vice principals, and counselors, ensuring that each parent felt welcomed and comfortable in the setting where their own children spent their daily lives. Back-to-School night not only introduced parents to their child’s school year but also proved how much East cares about every student. The Cherry Hill school district continues to make sure that they are able to foster every learner in the best environment possible.
Overall, East’s representative teachers and students made time to ensure that all parents and students felt reassured heading into this new school year, once more.