Guiteras School Open House Allays Anxiety

With the start of school being delayed until this past Tuesday due to Irene, many parents at Guiteras School's Open House on Wednesday night expressed surprise at how much work was already on display in the classrooms.

Kindgergarten teacher, Marie Powers, said she was in her classroom by 7am on Wednesday morning in order to start preparing for the Open House, and Diane Quesnelle, the mom of one of Powers' new students said she was impressed.

"I was surprised they decided to have the Open House, but I understand that you do have to stay on a schedule," said Quesnelle. "I'm impressed that there's so much artwork on display tonight already. Kudos to the teachers."

"I wondered what they were going to show us tonight, but it looks great" added Cheryl Darnbrough, another kindergarten mom.

Upstairs, in the fourth grade classroom of Karen McCanna, Ann Martin was chatting with McCanna and enthusing over the change in the classroom in just two days.

"The walls were bare at first, and now they have lots of things on them," said Martin.

Guiteras School principal, Sonya Whipp, said the Open House was supposed to be during the second week of school, but because all the district schools had already scheduled their Open Houses before the storm hit, it would have been difficult to change the date without interfering with another school's night.

Whipp said she appreciated the fact that having the Open House so early in the school year gave the parents and teachers a chance to get to know each other better.

"It becomes more of a welcoming and greeting event," said Whipp. "Rather than focusing on work the children have done, or how they're doing in school, parents are able to meet the teachers and see the building."

Guiteras School parent volunteer coordinator, Shael Norris, said she was pleased with the early Open House.

"It's giving me a chance to connect with all the parents and say hello," said Norris.

Veteran teacher, Powers, summed up the evening best.

"I like that everyone can come in and get a feel for the classroom, and feel good about their child being here," she said.

And for the parents of her new kindergarten students, that was likely the best part of the night.