On Feb. 25, Taft held its annual Open House where parents and students from grades 9 to 11 are invited to preview the classes that the Varsity campus has to offer. Students looked around, went into classes that they might like, and experienced how those classes worked.
Assistant Principal Dr. Melissa Hess said, “It’s really an opportunity for them to showcase the different classes that we’re offering and essentially work through students, especially for electives like juniors and seniors, so it’s really an opportunity for our staff to showcase all the awesome classes that we have.”
Hess added, “There are some students driven by taking the most rigorous pathways and to have the best post-secondary outcomes. There are students that pick classes because they really liked a teacher that they talked to, and that teacher is going to teach that class in the following year.”
IBCP Personal and Professional Skills teacher Bill Giannetos, who was at the Open House, said, “Although the turn out could have been better, it’s comforting, and I think it’s positive to dedicate one day a year to say the school’s open during school hours for parents to come and visit the school, visit the classrooms, talk to the teachers, get a better understanding of all the course offerings, and the different programs.” Ever since its founding in 2014, the number of students in the IBCP program has grown and thrived from 30 to 240 students over the course of 11 years.
Orion Miller, who helped Shakespeare Slam club for Open House, had this to say, “I think Open House went very well, we got around 15 sign ups for Shakespeare (Slam) which was really helpful.” Miller continued, “I saw a lot that interested me, the Marching Band seemed really fun and Psychology used candy to bribe people to join the club.”
Miller did have a gripe about the second ever Open House, “It’s really hard to navigate and figure out where you’re trying to go, if only there were more posters to tell students where to go.”
Alex Cisek is a junior who didn’t help a club or classes, but rather like most students, went around to pick his classes for next year. “They could’ve been more clear instead of just saying ‘oh yeah, this is happening, go find it.’ It was also helpful to talk with counselors,” he said.
Cisek also was upset with the directions, “Sometimes they would have several rooms, instead of having math classrooms close together, they would have them scattered about and not tell you which one is where. Basically having no idea where you were going and trying to navigate the entire school to find what you want.”
Although this year was only Taft’s second official Open House event, there certainly seem to be more arriving in the near future. And with this, and other similar events, showcasing the best parts of Taft, and the community among its students, teachers, and parents.
