There were a few older students walking the halls of Central Preston Middle School today, as parents and grandparents joined their students for Take Your Parent to School Day (TYPTSD). According to Principal Paul Martin this event started 7 years ago and has expanded to twice a year (fall and late winter/early spring) and to two sessions a day. “About a quarter of our parents are participating, and that is a great thing,” said Martin. Martin wants parents to have the opportunity as often as possible to be involved, see the small group instruction in action, and witness the hands-on experience the students are receiving. As principal, one of Martin’s goals is to increase family engagement. He said he’s observed a strong improvement over the past several years. He attributes that to his hard-working, dedicated staff who help to build a welcoming culture.
Parents (and grandparents) who participated in today’s event had a chance to see learning opportunities in action that included dissecting cow eyeballs, creating a Character Strong skit on empathy, building a plot map in English class, discussing literature, and solving math problems. Parents started their day with an opening session in the school library lead by Principal Martin and co-hosted by Dean of Student Angie Zofchak and guidance counselor Linkoln Barger. Parents then followed their students’ schedule (shorted to a half day) and received a lunch catered by the Preston County Inn. Parents were even asked to follow all school rules: no gum, no phones, be nice, etc. The parents were all smiles as they navigated their way to class. Melony Stone, parent of 8th grade student Lexi Roy, said she really enjoys attending the event each year and was so happy her daughter wanted her to be a part of it. Parent Patricia Johnson whose son Billy is in fifth grade said she really enjoyed seeing the students outside passing a football and enjoying recess. While Roger Kelley, grandfather of Bentley (grade 5) and Holly (grade 6) enjoyed having lunch with his grandkids in the library, which provided some down time to talk about their day.
Teachers also enjoyed the event. Teacher Jayme Bishop said she always enjoys having the parents in and she wishes they could have an open door more often. “It’s a nice event where parents get to truly see the effect of small group instruction,” said Bishop. And Bishop added that the kids really love having their parents in to see their school and what they are learning.
Kristen Adams, Friends of Wildcats, was also in attendance and took the time to inform parents of the opportunities to get involved in supporting the school. Adams said they currently need volunteers to help in the library, with school clean up, etc. Adams encouraged parents to find more information on the Friends of Wildcats Facebook page.
As the day ended, parents were reflective saying that while the pace was tiresome, they were so glad to have this opportunity. Principal Martin thanked all the parents for participating. He said he was pleased with the turnout and especially that today’s attendance featured more fathers and grandfathers than previous TYPTSD events. “It’s great to see all parents and grandparents taking such an interest in their students’ education,” summarized Martin.
Photo Captions:
Katie Ware's science class dissects cow eyeballs. Sherea Singer & Adelyn (grade 6) work on the project at hand.
CPMS Principal Paul Martin provides an introduction to the day's event.
Mark Braham and son Derek (grade 8) enjoy lunch in the library.
Ethan Rouzee attended Take Your Parent to School Day with his 8th grade son Lannen.
Parents and grandparents enjoy lunch with their students at CPMS during Take Your Parent to School Day 2/8/24.
Joan Carr's Character Strong FLEX class works on empathy skits with parents Leah Turner, Brandy Shrout (son John, grade 6), and Monica LaPointe, grandmother of Jaden (grade 6).
Grandfather Roger Kelley enjoys lunch with Holly (grade 6) and Bentley (grade 5).
Parent Leah Turner and son Lijah (grade 6) and Kerry Fasouletos & Ayla (grade 6) work to dissect cow eyeballs in Katie Ware's class.
Kerry Fasouletos & daughter Ayla (grade 6) work to dissect cow eyeballs in Katie Ware's class.
Students work on math games in Jayme Bishop's class.
Teacher Jamie Knotts provides instruction for the students while parent Julia Nestor listens. Nestor's son is sixth grade student Hunter.
Karyn Schmidl's ELA class prepares to start their work for the day.
Karyn Schmidl opens class with an overview of the day's work.
Lunch was provided for parents from the Preston County Inn.
Lexi Roy (grade 8) and mother Melony Stone enjoy lunch together in the CPMS library on Take Your Parent to School Day.