On Sept. 4, WHS parents came to the high school for Back to School Night. The event, which started at 7 p.m. and lasted two hours, allowed parents to tour each of their child’s classes and meet their teachers.

Parents said that teachers spent the time talking about their background and put on presentations about the class’s curriculum.

“The teachers I’ve seen have emphasized their education, where they’re from and the basic goals of the class,” Wendy Pachter, a parent of a junior, said.

Back to School Night was earlier this year than in previous years. Back to School Nights are usually held on Thursdays because it is an optimal time of the week for the teachers, and of those available Thursdays, the elementary schools had first pick because of the new elementary school configuration. This left two possible dates for the high school’s Back to School Night.

“For the high school, it was a choice between [Sep. 4th] and the end of October. We made the executive call that the first week of school was probably better to get the parents in here, to get acquainted with the teachers and the culture,” Mizoguchi said. “Late October is too late for Back to School Night.”

Members of the administration believed that Back to School Night was valuable and beneficial to parents.

“I think [Back to School Night is] a great thing,” assistant principal Ethan Dolleman said. “I think the opportunity for parents to come in and see in a whirlwind fashion all of the different teachers that their students have is just an awesome time. I think it’s really efficient.”

“Even if it’s a snippet, it’s a meaningful glimpse of what the students will be experiencing through the year,” Mizoguchi said.

This was a view that was shared by parents.

“[The teacher’s presentations were] very good, very thoughtful, very helpful,” Jen Murray, a parent of a freshman, said.