On Sunday, October 22, 2017, Padua Academy hosted an open house from around 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. During open house, families were lead on tours around the school by student ambassadors to get a feel for Padua’s atmosphere. Families were also introduced to teachers to get an understanding of the curriculum here at Padua.

“Open House provides us all with the opportunity to celebrate what we love about Padua Academy,” Director of Admission, Mrs. Shana Rossi, says. “I am always so touched and amazed by the number of students who want to give up their free time on a Sunday to volunteer at Open House! That truly speaks to our students’ love of their school and their support of our faculty and staff! What I love most about Open House is that it allows us to share the good news of Padua Academy with prospective families!  We all LOVE Padua, and Open House is our chance to show the community all that we have to offer.  I don’t ever think of it as ‘selling’ our school to a prospective family; I think of it as us making sure anyone and everyone is able to learn about the incredible opportunities we offer to young women,” Mrs. Rossi adds.

Each tour given by a student ambassador began, or ended, in Roberto Hall with a talk from head of school, Mrs. Cindy Mann. Tour guides all had different routes to take to prevent rooms from getting too crowded. On the ground floor, Mr. Dowling and Mr. McGeehan were in room 12 to talk to prospective families about the technology programs at Padua. In room 14, Mr. Leizear and some PATV students talked about the Communication Arts programs.

On first floor, the Library, Café, and Graphic Design room were set up for people to visit. In the café, there was information provided on Music Theory and Choral Music. After tours, people had the chance to get refreshments in the café and visit the school store. Families also had the chance to go into the Learning Commons to meet Mrs. Hudson and learn about all the resources Padua provides to its students.

In the conference room on the second floor, Padua’s Advocacy Program for Success leader, Mr. Sheehan, and APS and Service leader, Mrs. Alinda, were giving short talks on the importance and purpose of the programs. Guidance counselors were also right next door to explain their role in helping with the college process. In room 220, Mrs. Pugliese and Mr. Mahler described the Social Studies program and History Day, where students had the opportunity to show their projects.  World Language teachers were gathered in 224 to talk about the three languages offered at Padua- Spanish, Italian, and French.

Athletics are a big part of Padua’s identity, and to display that to families, the gym held representatives from each team. Families also had the opportunity to give coaches and captains their email to get information about practices and tryouts. Outside of the gym, the math teachers gathered in room 308. Room 304 was focused on religious studies and Campus Ministry. All of the teachers from the English department were in 302, and finally in 326, families received information about Psychology, AP psychology, and AP comparative government classes.

Lastly, the fourth floor held Biology, Environmental Science, Anatomy, Sports Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Robotics, and the fine arts classrooms. Science teachers gathered in various rooms-402, 404, 406, 408. In room 412, families could look into Padua’s Engineering and Robotics program. Finally, in 414, Mrs. Vitollo showed what she teaches in her art classes, and art students were also there to show families their talents.

Nearly 300+ families attended the Open House. When asked what was liked most about Open House, a majority of families said the environment. Padua is committed to providing a welcoming, responsible, patient, and dedicated community to all visitors.