Virtual Back to School Night

On Thursday, September 24, Head of School Sarah Pelmas welcomed families to Winsor’s first virtual Back to School Night. Reimagined to still give families a glimpse of their child’s classes and classrooms, and the opportunity to hear from the Head of School, Division Heads and teachers, this year’s BTSN leveraged technology in much the same way Winsor is doing for student learning. 

 

The evening opened with a “synchronous” zoom session with Head of School Sarah Pelmas, whose opening remarks offered insight and inspiration for families facing an unpredictable year ahead. Next, families joined synchronous sessions, by division, to hear from the Upper and Lower School Division Heads. Then break out sessions by Class (I-VIII) allowed families to hear from Deans and Class Coordinators about their child’s specific year at Winsor, and what to expect academically, developmentally, and socially.

 

The “asynchronous” portion of the evening that followed was a Winsor first. Departments and teachers created unique slides and slideshows with images, videos, and audio, as an introduction to them as teachers, and to the classrooms, curriculum, and more. A link to each of these presentations was provided to families so they could view their students’ courses at a time convenient to them. STEM teacher Chris Player’s Engineering Design presentation is a great example, illustrating how the faculty were able to give families a true insider’s look at what’s happening in each class even though they weren’t able to be on campus.