Parents Head Back to School During Upper School Family Weekend

9/27/2019

Upper school faculty members welcomed parents and guardians into their classrooms on Saturday, September 20, to give families a taste of their children’s education around the Harkness table.

From Latin and geometry to poetry and biology, parents spent the morning immersing themselves in their student’s academic experience.

The occasion was Curriculum Day, which was part of The Masters School’s annual Upper School Family Weekend. During Curriculum Day, parents and guardians had the opportunity to visit their students’ classes and hear directly from teachers.

The weekend events began on Friday, September 19, with advisor meetings for new and boarding parents, a girls JV volleyball game, and a cocktail reception for new parents in Estherwood Mansion. Saturday morning kicked off with a warm welcome in the Claudia Boettcher Theatre from Head of School Laura Danforth and Interim Head of Upper School Peter, followed by Curriculum Day, sessions on special programs, and class meetings.

Danforth’s remarks highlighted her goal of giving students hope and ensuring that they will always have a home at Masters. “Hope springs, bubbles forth from all of us having a sense of home. Hope comes, too, by being a school committed to equity, inclusion and social justice. Hope comes by affirming the individual worth of all who are part of this home, as well as the world outside it,” Danforth stated. When Newcomb took the stage, he commented on the essential foundation of kindness that exists in the school community: “The kids demonstrate this kindness when no one is watching,” he said. Before sending parents off to their first class of the day, Newcomb shared, “I hope that today, you get to experience some of the magic your kids experience on a daily basis.”

Upper School Family Weekend Highlights:

Indeed, parents appeared to be relishing in the opportunity to head back to class, even if just for a few hours. Frances Regan and Dean Curnutt P’22, who spent the morning following their child’s schedule and hearing from teachers, particularly enjoyed that Curriculum Day provided parents with an opportunity to connect with each other and with the School. “You feel welcome right away. And, it’s fun to meet the other parents,” Regan said. She particularly enjoyed seeing the different teachers' approaches to their subjects, and highlighted upper school English teacher Zev Barnett’s lesson — taught within the 10-minute mini-class time — on the classic dystopian novel “1984”: “It didn’t feel like a sample lesson,” Regan explained.

After a catered lunch in the Strayer Hall gym, parents had the option to attend a variety of sports games, or stop in to one of four sessions to learn about the college process in 2020, the Ethical Leadership program, the Global and Civic Exchange program, and innovation and entrepreneurship. The day wrapped up with meetings with class deans.

A jam-packed varsity athletics schedule saw matches in boys soccer, girls soccer, girls tennis, field hockey and girls volleyball squads. Boys soccer and girls tennis both emerged victorious, defeating Packer Collegiate Institute and LuHi, respectively.

Come Monday morning, faculty were back in the classroom – but this time, it was students around the Harkness table.