THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409230213
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
THE PAST FEW WEEKS have been full of adjustments for 11-year-old Erica Keppler.
Since she started sixth grade at Landstown Middle School, Erica has spent a lot of her time asking questions, getting used to a new atmosphere and following around whoever leads the way.
``It's really different from elementary school,'' she said. ``I'm used to leading.''
Erica got the chance to relive that feeling Tuesday night when she escorted her dad and brother around school for Landstown's sixth-grade open house, one of many open houses going on this fall in schools across the city. With their children's class schedules in hand, nearly 400 curious parents stopped in for orientation, to find out just what middle school is all about.
``An open house serves a number of purposes,'' said George E. McGovern, principal. Besides giving parents a chance to meet the teachers and hear the requirements directly from them, versus hearing them second-hand from their children, McGovern said open house makes them feel comfortable.
``It lets them know they can come and go and find out what's going on in the classes,'' he said. ``It's a personal initial contact rather than a phone call.''
Parents agree with the concept of personal first meetings. ``I think it's important to know what teachers expect,'' said Jeff Keppler, Erica's dad. ``This is just a good way to start a relationship.''
Lancer cheerleaders crowded in front of the bright blue foyer doors, handing out PTA agendas and welcoming students, parents and faculty to Landstown. Dressed in black polo shirts and white shorts, the group of young ladies served as tour guides for those parents who didn't bring their children along to lead the way.
``I've had a lot of them ask me questions,'' said first-year cheerleader Elizabeth Feild, a seventh-grader. ``I feel I can help them. I think I know my way around.''
After the chorus sang ``We Are the Youth'' and there was a brief PTA meeting, parents and students filed out of the 700-seat auditorium and spilled into the foyer. It was time to go to first period.
Moms and dads grabbed the hands of their sixth-graders. Sixth-graders pulled their little brothers and sisters behind. The potential of getting separated was at an all-time high, as tightly knit crowds crept down the locker-lined hallways. Five minutes was not enough time.
``Imagine what it's like in the daytime with 2,000 kids,'' remarked PTA first vice-president Carol Evans.
Evans, whose son, Joshua, is a seventh-grader at the school, has been a proud Landstown parent since the school opened. Evans' daughter, Kaylee, finished last year.
``I've been very, very proud of this school,'' Evans said. ``I'm proud as a parent.''
Parents traveled from classroom to classroom, where they had 10-minute sessions with the teachers. According to McGovern, the teachers weren't given any requirements in preparation. They were told to simply go over the expectations with parents.
From class descriptions to conduct to supply needs, teachers did just that.
``It's great to meet the parents,'' said Michele Christenson, who teaches a communications class called language matters to sixth-graders once a day.
Classroom procedures are not the only thing parents learned from open house. ``Teachers are looking to serve their children's best interests,'' Christenson said. ``We're on the same side.''
Open House helps teachers put a face on parents.
``If you can meet two-thirds of your parents at any one time, it helps,'' McGovern said.
Christenson said she was happy to see ``the children so proud of their parents.''
This parent pride has much to do with the high attendance at sixth-grade orientation as opposed to the smaller numbers at an eighth grade or senior open house.
``As children get older, they tend not to want their parents to come to school,'' McGovern said. ``They don't think it's the cool thing to do.''
McGovern also said that more sixth-grade parents come because ``they have to see the building and meet the teachers to find out if they're comfortable.''
Since the sessions with teachers were so brief and packed with information, parents did not ask many questions. ``I have learned a lot,'' said Ola Martins, who attended the orientation with her son, Yomi. ``I took lots of notes.''
Martins said she planned to talk with her son about his classes to make sure there wasn't any confusion regarding what the teachers expect. ``It helps to follow up,'' she said.
Following her son's routine and becoming acquainted with his teachers are two things Martins would not have missed for the world.
``It's one thing to read what school is like out of book,'' she said. ``You can never really be sure until you see it and experience it for yourself.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by HOLLY WESTER
Erica Keppler, a sixth-grader at Landstown Middle School, gives her
father, Jeff, and 4-year-old brother, Kendrick, a tour of her
``language matters'' class during the school's open house last
Tuesday. The class is taught by Michele Christenson.
Elizabeth Feild and Kristen Coward, seventh-grade cheerleaders, pass
out PTA agendas as parents file in for the open house.
by CNB