Parents’ Night at Townsend Elementary
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Parents’ Night at Townsend Elementary
MT 43 News Staff Reporter
Food and Fun Highlight Parents’ Night at Townsend Elementary
The Jordon Shearer family didn’t eat at parents’ night, but they sure had fun seeing their son Weston’s kindergarten room and attending the festivities of the evening. It was Dad Jordon’s first time at parents’ night. “Weston was really excited to show us his room,” Mom Anna said.
Weston’s classroom was light and inviting with tables set for promoting the study theme of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM). Weston and his younger brother Wade, a preschooler, dug in quickly to build bath balm balls. What they were seeing was the chemical effects of baking soda, lemon drink along with corn starch and baby oil. Weston’s teacher Jennifer Hoppe pointed out the bath balm balls fizz when put in bath water.
Weston’s teachers, Jennifer Hoppe and Kris Gillespie teach two of four kindergarten classes with a total grade number of 67 students. In past years, Mrs. Hoppe reported parents’ night has had a huge response with sometimes up to 500 parents and children attending. Elementary School Principal Christina Hartmann offered an observation: “I think parents’ night is successful for two reasons: food and fun!” she laughed.
Parents’ night participants were treated to “walking tacos” served up with Dorito chips and all the trimmings. Elementary school teachers did the serving. Families gathered at tables in the Commons area to visit and get to know each other. Following a good feed, families roamed through classrooms to see what each teacher had prepared for fun projects and experiments.
Mrs. Hoppe, who has taught for 20 years, said she thinks parents’ night is a great concept. “I love it. It gets parents, grandparents and siblings in the building. I get to meet them one to one and they see what their children are doing in school. Last year at parents’ night we did electric potatoes. Everyone thought it was great fun,” she said.
Tuesday, January 16 was the first day of the third semester. Kindergarteners began studying landform names, learning number problems and mostly getting ready for first grade. Asked how the four-day week had affected the children’s learning, Mrs. Hoppe said the change has been fine. "We are at the same place in the curriculum as we were this time last year," she pointed out.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Nancy Marks
Image 1 Caption: Kindergartener Weston Shearer and his mom Anna build a bath balm ball at Townsend elementary school parents’ night.
Photo Credits: Nancy Marks
Image 2 Caption: Dad Jordon Shearer and preschooler Wade try to get the hang of making bath balm balls.
Photo Credits: Nancy Marks
Image 3 Caption: Elementary school teacher Dan Hazlett dishes up walking tacos for the crowd.
Photo Credits: Nancy Marks
