Small Desks and Big Insights at Archway Arete’s K–2 Curriculum Night

At Archway Arete, parents of our youngest scholars recently had the opportunity to step into the classroom for Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade Curriculum Night. These evenings, held in the first weeks of school, are designed to give parents a firsthand look at the rhythms, expectations, and joys of a typical day in a Great Hearts classroom.

The night began with a warm welcome from Headmaster Cassie Mason. “This is one of my favorite events of the school year,” she shared with the group of parents gathered in the gym. “It’s an opportunity for parents to connect with their children’s teachers and to connect with one another.”

In the tradition of all Curriculum Nights in our lower schools at Great Hearts, Mason shared this year’s school-wide theme with the parents. “Our thematic goal for both last year and this year is ‘Arete means excellence. We choose. We own. We grow,’” she shared, asking the room to repeat the mantra with her. “Now, why did we keep the same goal? Because it’s that important… What is unique about our thematic goal is that it is objectively true. Arete is the Greek word for excellence. I tell our students, if you know our school name, you know a little bit of Greek. It’s part of who we are and it’s something we can be proud of.”

Parents then had an opportunity to hear from the rest of the admin team and specialists, including the French, art, music, and P.E. teachers, before being dismissed to their child’s classroom for teacher presentations.

Once in their children’s classrooms, some parents playfully struggled to fit behind small desks, sitting on child-sized chairs. “They hear from their children’s home room teachers, the assistant teacher and lead teacher [who] help parents have that fly-on-the-wall perspective of what a typical day in the life of kindergartener, first or second grader might look like.”

She emphasized the importance of the evening in building school-family partnerships. “There are many questions that parents have regarding what a typical day looks like for their child. It goes a long way in providing that opportunity for rapport and trust to be established between teacher and parent and really start to develop that partnership which is so key to a happy and successful year for our students.”

Throughout the evening, parents got a real feel for what their child’s day looks like, learning about routines, schedules, and how to support learning at home. They also had the chance to connect with teachers, and just as important, meet other families during a refreshment time in the multi-purpose room.

K–2 Curriculum Night at Archway Arete, and all of our academies, provides a unique glimpse into students’ daily lives and serves as a reminder of the strong partnership between parents and teachers that helps our youngest scholars grow, thrive, and love learning every day.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contactjmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.