On Monday of this week our second round of report cards went home and officially kicked-off spring Parent-Teacher Interview week. Being that we are a K-12 school, our K-7 teachers scheduled and organized their own meetings which ran throughout the week. In the 8-12 end, our school secretary scheduled our meetings for us which were primarily held on Thursday after school and Friday during school-hours (there were no classes on Friday).
Compared to the 30+ interviews I had first semester, this round was a breeze with only 20. I think last semester I had a lot of interviews because I was new to the staff and hadn't had an opportunity to meet very many families yet. As such, I found that many of my interviews were quite formal. This time around, my interviews were much more relaxed and comfortable.
While last semester I reflected on the content of my interviews, I never shared any pictures of how I set up for interviews. So, without further adieu, here are some pictures I snapped before interviews got going on Thursday:
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A quick selfie before things got underway.
Rocking my teal blazer & multi-colour top (both from Eclipse)
in attempts to break the winter-slump! |
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I had these tables set up outside my room, along with several chairs, for
parents/guardians/students while they waited. |
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This table showcased our Grade 8 Classroom Blog and included
step-by-step instructions on how to access specific student posts as well
as how to access our Classroom Website (used by all students). |
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This table held the student folders my students prepared with
exemplars of their work. Each bucket held the folders for each of
my classes and were assembled in alphabetical order. |
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I also had displays of student work up along the hallway.
This is an example of a project my Grade 9 Science students completed
regarding genotypes and phenotypes of their theoretical "alien babies".
Each poster included a QR Code that could be scanned in order to
access their research. |
Here is a list of tips I've put together for all of my wonderful student-teacher friends who will be holding their own parent-teacher interviews next year!
TIPS (in no particular order)
- Speak to what was communicated on the report card (both academically
and behaviourally). This ensures the parent/guardian fully understands
what the report was telling them.
- Having print-offs of the most current achievement report (including
report card comments) is a great reminder if you're on your 101st
interview and can no longer think clearly!
- Write notes to yourself after each interview (if needed) so you can
follow-up effectively (I would never remember otherwise)
- Have your anecdotal records handy, don't mention behaviours or
situations that you can't back up with documentation!
- If your discussion warrants a follow-up phone-call make sure you
note this and put it into your planner after interviews are done, there
is nothing worse than promising to do something and then forgetting!
- If you are not the right person to talk to regarding a certain situation
then make sure you direct the parent to the correct person, don't try
to tackle something that isn't in your area.
- Relax, focus, and take it one interview at a time! :)Labels: parent-teacher interviews, report cards, S-School, T-Division