Freshmen and their guardians participated in Freshman Go to School Night on the evening of Oct. 9, following an Anchor Day schedule with 15-minute periods. 

Freshmen Go to School Night is a long-lasting New Trier High School tradition that has helped guardians gain their first impression of the teacher who will guide their kids through freshman year. At this event, guardians typically learn about the course curriculum, receive the teacher’s contact information, and are led through a small activity to see what the classroom environment is like. 

Business teacher Robert Bollweg said this year he played Snake Oil, an activity where people make up a product using random words, with his students and their guardians. 

”It’s a fun night…curriculum’s not the most important thing,” Bollweg said. “It’s more about experiencing what high school is like.”

Dance teacher Lucy Riner, who teaches at the Northfield and Winnetka Campuses, believes seeing student-guardian interaction allows her to recognize the root of her students’ behavior. 

“Sometimes it’s even hard for me to still place the student,” Riner said. “But then in meeting the parent quickly and seeing that they might look alike or having a conversation with them actually also helps me know their kid better.”

On Freshman Go To School Night, she showed a snappy and quick modern dance, as well as a partner Latin dance in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. The partner dance even involves the guardians.

”We do a lot in that short little 15 minutes,” Riner said. “I think it’s the perfect amount of time for them to just get an appetizer platter of each of your classes.”

Despite the evening being low stakes for students, the 15-minute periods were demanding for teachers. 

“It can be overwhelming as a teacher,” English teacher Sara Gries said. “There is a moment of performance that can be stressful.” 

It is hard to imagine anything less: teachers had to prepare a short, informative, or interesting lesson plan, interact with guardians, remember names, go to school after sunsets, and be prepared to teach again the next day. 

This year, Gries had back-to-back classes where she had to present herself, and her class, through a critical thinking activity and poem in 15 minutes.

“I overprepare…this is your first impression in front of parents,” she said. “You stress over getting in there early enough and will the technology work, and there is never enough seating.”

Despite Gries’ demanding schedule, she believes that the 15-minute periods are a sufficient amount of time, as it doesn’t tire out the guardians. Others, like Applied Arts teacher Devan Castellano, find the 15 minutes a bit quick.

“Every year we teachers feel like we kind of run out of time, especially if you’re trying to do an activity, but then also answer some of the basic questions about the class,” Castellano said.  

Despite the conflicting feelings on the evening, teachers felt that the night is needed. 

“It helps [guardians] understand what the freshman campus looks like, where their student has to travel throughout the day but also how beautiful the campus is, [and] how much resources are there,” Riner said.