Back-to-School Night

Back-to-School Night at Pali was held on Thursday, August 30th. It was a short week as Friday was unassigned day and Monday is Labor Day. It is the last weekend that ushers in Fall. This year, the upper grades start early at 6pm; it's Pali tradition to alternate the schedule between the lower and upper grades.

All five families were represented and it was an informative night for both parents and myself. The parents got to see some of the works that their child has done the past couple of weeks. They were also given information on the curriculum, assessment, field trips, and other activities for the year.

The students wrote their parents an "apple" note and their parents responded to it. The theme of the night was that of parents being their child's first teacher, so they are equally deserving of receiving an "apple," which is customarily a symbol associated with teachers.

Apples and Teachers
Why are apples associated with teachers? People commonly see the fruit as a symbol of variety, change and growth. It symbolizes change and variety because it comes in different colors such as green yellow and red. Additionally, the fruit has various tastes like sweet, sour as well as tangy. Moreover, apple symbolizes growth since the strongest branch and grove of the plant sprout from the seeds of the fruit. However, people should know that without love or support, the fruit could become undesirable and bitter.
Why are apples associated with teachers? Another reason why people associate apples with teachers is the tradition from the 16th century until 18th century in various countries including Denmark and America, in which parents pay educators with foods like fruits. During this time, teachers do not receive enough salary to sustain the cost of living in their places. To help them with their basic needs, parents give the teachers of their children potatoes and apples. During these centuries, apples are considered special and expensive because these fruits are difficult to plant, cultivate and harvest. To compensate the efforts of educators and to make them feel special, parents pay them with different varieties of the fruit.
http://www.whyguides.com/why-are-apples-associated-with-teachers.html

It was also a night to ask support from parents to sign up as volunteers and to fulfill some of the items on the wish list. Room 20 has volunteer sign up and items for its wish list.

Volunteer Sign Up

Wishing Upon a Star!

Thank you again Room 20 parents for coming to our back-to-school night! I look forward to more productive discussions and conversations with you!

Here's a link to the prezi I showed that night:

http://prezi.com/3iugcbccfs_0/back-to-school-night-pali/?auth_key=66fd036b600e9aae0285fba8b2368e374efa2f6a