To welcome the new school year, Mr. Gorski stood in front of a crowd in the auditorium on Sept. 27, 2013 speaking about the coming months ahead. How will the student body strive to set goals to help West Milford High School become the best the school it could be, and what could be done to help achieve those goals? But it wasn’t the students to whom he was talking. It was our parents at Back-to-School Night! Hundreds of parents were there that night, and were eager to meet our teachers. Mr. Strianse noted, “There was a good parent turnout… they seemed excited to meet the teachers and see their [classes]”. After Mr. Gorski’s introduction of the department supervisors, the parents were off to see their child’s teachers. PALs were there that night to direct any newcomers to the school and any other lost parents to their destinations.

Ms. Pizzi of the World Language Department says that “Back-to-school night is always a great oppurtunity to meet the parents and let me connect with the parents as their student’s teacher.” As parents followed their child’s schedule around the school, teachers spent time to discuss the class with them. They went over the basics of the course, reviewed the syllabus, set expectations for major papers, and explained various field trips the class would be going on. They disseminated emails, handouts, and had small question-and-answer sessions, all within eight minutes! Mrs. Pertrosillo of the English Department says, “I enjoy back-to-school night, it enables me to connect with the parents, establish rapport, and get a better sense of who my students are.”  Here’s to the start of a great school year!