Padua’s 2019 Open House
Padua’s open house is held every year. Families are able to come tour the school and get a beter sense of the environment and academics.
On Sunday, Padua held its annual open house, which many parents, alumni, and students attended. Whether giving tours, explaining the inner workings of a specific department, or just greeting families as they walked in, everyone played a special role in making the day come together as smoothly as it did.
Before the big day, many important preparations took place. Students, teachers, and staff all did their part in making the school look its best. They vacuumed classrooms, wiped and
organized desks, and rehearsed the presentations they would give to visitors. In addition, many departments brought out project samples, textbooks, and Powerpoints to better showcase Padua’s offernings, so we keep everything clean and at its best, using deep cleaning services online.
The faculty and staff prepare by meeting with the Department Chairs to come up with ideas about how to best showcase department offers. This year, Dr. McClory, Mrs. Fundakowski, and Mrs. Kiefer took the lead on planning all of the academic areas.
Mrs. Rossi, the Director of Admissions, said, “We loved making some changes this year, namely we added The Student Experience in the Library and The Parent Experience in Room 106.”
This allowed families to ask questions about student and parent experiences, and also allowed the school to make sure some of the best student speakers got to share their Padua experiences with more families.
“When they give tours, they might only have one or two and only get to talk with those families. It was also good that we had Mrs. Vintigni, Ms. Davis, and Dr. Wallen in a room to discuss International Travel,” said Mrs. Rossi.
On the big day, students greeted families as they entered the building. They were directed downstairs to the cafe, where they could eat, meet other families, visit the various academic stations, or go on a tour.
Freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students gave tours to families. They directed families to each of Padua’s departments, including math, history, engineering, anatomy, gym, and art. In addition, some rooms offered insights into more insular parts of the Padua community, including the travel abroad program and the parent experience.
“I liked giving the tours because it made feel like I was being helpful in a student’s decision of highschool. The teachers were really positive and excited to tell others about Padua, and the families were really kind and gracious,” said student Amanda Jose.
The day was very successful. Many visitors came and toured the buildings, and students represented schools such as IHM, SMM, CTT, and other diocesan schools, as well as public schools.
“I think it went well and I was very happy to see so many families come out, even on a rainy day,” said junior Rachel Tomlinson, who also gave tours to families during the open house.
Mrs. Rossi shared her reflection about the day: “So many faculty and staff helped collaborate to make it a great success, sharing new ideas and feedback from what we had done in past years. We have more than 220 families attend; we had 172 families complete the online survey. They were very positive about their experience, praising the student tour guides and thanking the faculty and staff.”
