Parents late for class

By Spencer Johnston and Chan-sun Park

On Thursday, September 17th, 1998 Jesuit parents were invited to attend Back-to-School Night. Before the evening began, there was the traditional traffic jam and rush to make it to the gym on time.

The evening commenced at 7:00 PM in the Gym with an introduction to the new year given by Father McGarry. In his commentary, Father McGarry spoke of the faculty's dedication and commitment to the students of Jesuit High School. He then introduced the new faculty members, administrators, and program directors.

Assistant principal Mr. Novak outlined the evening's procedure. He added humor by addressing "The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions", including Is the Snack Bar open and should I eat there? Most parents, however, were troubled with "Will I have homework tonight?". After the questions, the parents were dismissed to their sons' classes.

With campus maps and their sons' schedules in hand, parents scurried to find the right classrooms before the bell sounded, saying "Hello" to familiar faces as they passed. Parents spent ten minutes in each class listening to the teachers and had five minutes between classes. The teacher's time was occupied by the usual personal introduction and background. Many teachers provided their course syllabi as an outline of their class and some teachers also spoke about their curricula, educational philosophies, and goals for their students.

A five minute between-class passing time proved too short for some parents; a few became lost and were late to class. Other parents found it difficult to navigate their way through the campus in the commotion and the crowds. Yet others were perfectly on time to class with minutes to spare. Fortunately, there was no JUG for parents, even though they might have been late or absent.

For those that required assistance, Block J members were available to help direct parents. On hand for the entire evening, they also tried to direct the parking nightmare.

The night progressed until the end of sixth period when the final bell rang and parents were dismissed for the evening. Overall, parents found the evening informative and enjoyed the chance to meet their sons' teachers and hear about their sons' classes. They will continue to attend this informative event in the coming years. After two hours of running around and listening to teachers, Jesuit parents got a taste of what their sons go through each day at Jesuit.