We are excited to welcome you to our Smith Elementary Curriculum Night: Choose Your Own Learning Adventure on Thursday, September 17, from 5:30–6:30 PM!
We’ve received a few great questions about how the evening will work, particularly from families with multiple children at Smith, so we wanted to provide a little more clarity before you arrive.
This year, Curriculum Night will look a little different from the traditional format. Rather than spending the evening sitting through a presentation about your child’s specific grade level, we want to give YOU the opportunity to experience learning like a Smith student!
Curriculum Night is designed for our parents and guardians. Students are NOT required to attend. We know many of our students have practices, activities, and other commitments that evening, and they do not need to miss those activities to attend Curriculum Night. If childcare is a challenge and you need to bring your children with you, they are certainly welcome to come along!
So, how will the evening work?
Throughout the evening, we will offer four 12-minute learning rotations, with a 3-minute passing period between each session:
5:30–5:42 | Rotation 1
5:45–5:57 | Rotation 2
6:00–6:12 | Rotation 3
6:15–6:27 | Rotation 4
When you arrive, you will receive a Parent Session Choices sheet to help you map out your learning adventure. For each rotation, you'll be able to identify your first and second session choice.
Here is the important part: you get to choose what you want to learn about!
Teachers across Smith will be offering sessions in areas such as Reading, Math, Specials, Dyslexia, and Library, with opportunities to experience learning across different grade levels. You are not assigned to your child's classroom or required to attend a particular grade-level session.
For example, if you have a kindergartner and a second grader, you might choose to experience a kindergarten reading lesson during one rotation, second-grade math during another, visit a Specials session, and then attend another session that interests you. You do not have to choose between your children or try to attend everything for both grade levels. Build the evening around what would be most helpful to you!
Our goal is for you to leave with a better understanding of what learning looks and feels like for your child at Smith, along with strategies and ideas you can use to support learning at home.
What about the traditional grade-level information?
Don't worry—we aren't taking that away!
The typical “nuts and bolts” information specific to your child's grade level and classroom will still be shared with families electronically. You will not miss important grade-level information because you chose to attend a different session during Curriculum Night.
Instead, we are using our time together on September 17 to do something we can't accomplish nearly as well through an email or presentation: let you see, experience, and participate in the learning happening at Smith!
Doors will open at 5:15 PM so families have time to review the available sessions, make their selections, and plan their adventure before our first bell rings promptly at 5:30 PM.
We hope this helps clarify what to expect and takes some of the pressure off our families with multiple Smith students. Come ready to explore, ask questions, learn something new, and have a little fun being a Smith student for the evening!
We can't wait to learn with you!