The bell rings and advisory is over. It’s time to go to first period. Some run around the quad, trying to make it from the student center to Gilman before the end of the passing period. Others take their time. This may seem like any normal start to an A day at Bishop’s, only this time, it is parents, not students, who fill the halls.

Bishop’s hosted parents and guardians on campus during the annual Back to School Knight (BTSK) event on September 19, 2024. The event gave parents the chance to catch up or meet other parents, experience a full class schedule at Bishop’s in ten-minute intervals, and meet their children’s teachers.

5:00 pm — Parents Mingle on the Terrace

By 5:15, crowds of parents and guardians gathered on the terrace, standing in line for sweets, cheeses, and fruits. As more people arrived, the sound of conversations grew louder. Parents of new students studied their list of classes with puzzled looks while returning parents caught up with familiar faces and introduced themselves to new ones. 

“It’s definitely my favorite event of the year,” Mrs. Monica Oder (Celeste (‘26)) said, grinning and looking around the scene.

“I like hearing from the teachers what their expectations are for the kids. This is probably my seventh back-to-school night, she added.  “It’s always the best night of the year. Super fun!” Mrs. Tracey Balsdon (Anna (‘24) and Bex (‘26)) agreed. 

5:25 pm — Mr. Kim Gives Opening Remarks

A hush fell over the crowded terrace, as Ms. Beth Garon, Director of Parent and Family Relations, gave parents a run-down of the evening agenda. While the periods are brief, they would provide a snapshot into the students’ daily lives at Bishop’s. 

The next speaker was the Head of School, Mr. Ron Kim, who was making conversation earlier with the newer parents making their way through the gates. Speaking about the value of BTSK for families, Mr. Kim noted that while the periods are brief, they provide a snapshot into the students’ daily lives at Bishop’s. Mr. Kim emphasized the opportunity to meet students’ teachers. “The teachers who [your students] have gotten to know, who they trust so much, and who make every subject for them so exciting,” he said, “the most important thing I think is the relationship that the teachers have with the kids.”

Mr. Kim also announced a fun tradition he does every year: taking the night to fill in for a family. “I’m most excited about adopting (Serena Abraham (‘27))” and getting to “experience back to school night as if I were a parent of a Bishop’s student,” he said.

5:45 pm — Advisory

Parents kicked off the night in advisory, the same way students start their days. In the span of 20 minutes, parents met each other and advisors, and got to witness the advisory experience.

New parent Mr. Elijah Nicolas (Norah Nicolas (‘31)) found advisory to be his favorite part of the night. “Advisory is always cool because it’s something different, something you don’t hear much about,” he said, “having advisory makes school a little more accessible…gives that feeling of family and introduce[s] that feeling of stewardship and companionship…overall bring[ing] a good feeling of comradery.” More generally, he mentioned that BTSK allowed him to get a “birds-eye view” of the classes Nora was taking, as well as the teachers around her.

6:12 pm — Period 1

Tucked under the campus down a flight of stairs, lies the classroom of  Visual Arts and Ceramics Teacher Mr. Jeremy Gercke. While it may be challenging to find, it sure is a hidden wonder, filled with tons of ceramic pieces made by the students of the school. 

As the parents made their way out of the advisory and into his classroom, Mr. Gercke showed the parents of his Ceramics III students pieces their children had made, explaining the technique, and creation that went into making them. They all stared in wonder as Mr. Gercke painted slip (a mixture of clay and water) onto a piece of ceramic bisque (a piece of clay that has been fired in the kiln but hasn’t been glazed). To demonstrate the hands-on aspect of the class, parents were offered the opportunity to move around and explore the different textures and compositions of some of the other works. 

6:29 pm — Period 2

Math Teacher Ms. Jennifer Seymour stood in front of a class of 15 parents as she presented the year-long plan for her period two Honors Statistics class. As she talked about the real-life application of statistics through Moneyball and, more recently, the 2024 election season, some parents took notes while others sat with their legs crossed listening attentively. One of those parents was Mr. David Yu (Kristen ( ‘27), Laurene (‘30)). 

It was Mr. Yu’s first time attending Back to School Knight — and it was a success. He noted that the environment was very welcoming. However, after attending only three periods he observed something unique about the teachers at Bishop’s. “The teachers,” he said, “I can tell that they put their heart into their teaching.” Parents wrote sticky notes to their kids, which they would see attached to their tests when they got back. 

Meanwhile, English Teacher Ms. Crescence Birder presented an overview of what her eighth-grade English class would look like for the students, followed by an exhilarating alphabet game, in which parents raced in teams to complete a list of active verbs A-Z. Parents chattered excitedly as they furiously scribbled words into their blanks, with team “Disorganized Dames” beating the other parents by a whisker.

Ms. Birder said that this exercise was very in line with what is taught to the eighth graders. She mentioned that they played this alphabet game when students were tired at the end of the quarter to strengthen their writing. “That was a really inspiring class for eighth grade English,” Mrs. Brynn Taylor (Loïc (‘26) and Isaac (‘29)) said. “I loved hearing about why the teacher is excited about the class, how it incorporates what the children have learned so far, and how it helps them in terms of their future academic adventures.”

6:46 pm — Period 3

Around 15 parents entered History Teacher Mr. Matthew Valji’s classroom in Upper Gilman excited to learn about the History Department’s newest addition: Honors Atomic Bomb, a course about nuclear weapons from a historical, scientific, and cultural perspective. Parents sat down in Mr. Valji’s classroom, and he projected a photo on his whiteboard of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear test in French Polynesia. 

As late parents rushed in, unsure if they entered the correct classroom, Mr. Valji, laughing, said, “Are you looking for Honors Atomic Bomb? You know you are in the right classroom when you see a photo of a giant mushroom cloud!”

Mr. Valji opened the period by sharing a quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project and deemed the Father of the Atomic Bomb, which read, “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.” 

After letting parents read the quote, he had them discuss in small groups the meaning of the quote in the context of the class. “You are doing the same thing I have my students do every day — discuss course content in small groups.”

After group discussion, Mr. Valji explained the six units of the curriculum, highlighting the unique mix of science, culture, and international relations present in his history class. Lastly, Mr. Valji posed two questions to the parents and asked them to consider and share any thoughts they had. The first question asked parents to think back to their childhoods and remember the role of nuclear weapons in it. The second question connected the scientists of the Manhattan Project with modern science, asking parents if they feel that scientists today should be held responsible for the moral and ethical implications of their developments in biotechnology, such as CRISPR, and in Artificial Intelligence, such as ChatGPT. 

The relevance, connection, and discussion of Honors Atomic Bomb intrigued and engaged the parents, and many left the class feeling excited for what their child was getting the chance to learn. 

7:03 pm — Period 4

English Teacher Dr. Kathleen Kelly stood in front of approximately 15 parents, who were seated around a table, ready to learn about their children’s Banned Books class. Dr. Kelly started her class by having the parents introduce themselves, before presenting to the parents, using a variety of slideshow presentations to explain what students have been learning about this year. She explained that this Sunday marks the beginning of Banned Books Week, which brings about a national conversation about the significance of censorship. 

Dr. Kelly quoted Salman Rushide, who said, “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it doesn’t exist.” 

After her brief presentation, Dr. Kelly passed out handouts that included various texts, giving parents a taste of what their children are reading this semester. Then in a Harkness-style discussion, she asked parents to discuss what they thought the texts had in common, and what might be offensive. At the very end of the class, she gave parents a form to fill out about their children, so that she could get to know them and support them with things that she might not have already learned about. 

Over at the gym, the bleachers buzzed with anticipation as the head of P.E and Health Department, Coach Carr let out an energetic whoop before dancing her way over to the center of the gym to teachers in her department, Coach Johnson, Coach Simonds, and Coach Levine. Jumping right in, each coach took their turn introducing themselves before getting straight into the importance of helping each student find a balance between their education and getting their bodies the exercise they need. 

“We’re here to get your kids moving and grooving,” said Coach Carr. 

7:20 pm — Period 5

The vocabulary for the upcoming test — jihadism, revolutionary Salafism, and Sayyid Qutb to name a few — was etched in red marker onto the whiteboard behind the parents in History Teacher Mr. Damon Halback’s Honors War on Terror class.  Mr. Halback stood in front of a small cohort of parents talking to them about the importance of a class like War on Terror in today’s context. “Most of the discussion of controversial topics happens in the ether of social media or it takes place through argumentation,” he said, “In an academic class, we aim to focus on understanding, what’s important is not that you agree with something, but you seek to understand it.”  

After the class, Ms. Christine Johnson (Emily (‘20), Maggie (‘22), Katie (‘26)) said War on Terror was her favorite session of the night. She was drawn in at first due to her daughter’s own enthusiasm for the class but quickly became fascinated. She noted that War on Terror allows students to learn the depth of history that contextualizes where we are today, and learn “from that history so we don’t make those same mistakes again.”

7:37 pm — Period 6

History Teacher Mr. Kamal Assaf began his speech for 8th grade American History with a heartwarming anecdote about being a student at Bishop’s, back when girls still stayed in the dormitories on campus. He described the night’s meeting to be more of a “show and tell” rather than a PowerPoint-driven class. He described his goal as a history teacher: that history could help the students become more informed citizens and create a thoughtful society. He stressed the importance of students learning from peers rather than just listening to a lecture.

Parents cheerily exited the classroom, and left with Mr. Assaf’s inspiring words and warm handshakes. “It was super fun. He seems like a really dynamic teacher. It’s hard when you’re young to really see beyond the dates and the events, but [history] really is the story of us! I think it’s really important and it’s great that he’s trying to convey that to our kids,” Dr. Sharon Brouha (Mira Grace (‘29)) said.

Across campus in the science building, parents of high school students tried their best to comprehend complex and advanced topics in chemistry, physics, and biology. 

In Science Teacher Mr. Marcus Milling’s Advanced Honors Physics classroom upstairs, around 20 parents watched him explain the meaning of graphs his students had recorded in a lab earlier that day. He explained the correlation of force, mass, and acceleration as parents scratched their heads and scrunched their faces, trying to understand Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion. 

Mr. Yucong Tao (Chris ‘26), after exiting the class, said, “It is all very interesting, it reminds me of my youth. I struggled with Physics but I still really enjoy it.” With regards to Mr. Milling, Mr. Tao said, “his teaching is very experimental, very hands-on, very enlightening. He wants his students to think.I want Chris to learn this way from a young age, so I am very pleased with Mr. Milling.” 

Meanwhile, parents across the hall in Science Teacher Dr. Pamela Reynold’s Advanced Honors Chemistry classroom also learned about a lab their kids had done earlier that day in which they recrystallized aspirin and took the melting points of purified Benzoic Acid that they had also recrystallized. “I wish I had Dr. Reynolds when I was taking organic chemistry in high school!” Ms. Jenny McDaniel (Nirvana (‘25)) exclaimed after walking out of the class. 

Lastly, downstairs, Dr. Lani Keller greeted around 20 parents as they walked into Science 106 for Honors Biology. Dr. Keller started by explaining her background, from growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, to discovering her true love — fruit flies — which was met with laughter from the parents. She explained that, after having held a variety of jobs, her current position is her favorite, because she loves teaching juniors, and she learns from her students too. 

7:54 pm — Period 7

Parents gathered in Math Teacher Mrs. Beamer’s classroom where they were presented with the math problem _ ( _ + _ ) = _ _ + _ _ to solve. After a couple minutes, Mrs. Beamer explained that this was what their children were currently learning. She told them that their kids had come up with around 10-15 solutions during class.

In Math 2E (enriched 7th-grade math), students would build on their problem-solving skills further elevating their understanding of the world of math. One way that Mrs. Beamer keeps this process fun is by introducing many fun math puzzles like Binary Puzzles, Sudoku X, and many more. “It’s so nice to get to meet all of them [the parents] and get to share a little of what we do in class every day.”

The End of the (K)night

As the evening darkness enveloped the campus, parents left Period 7 with the same feelings of exhaustion yet happiness that students feel after a long day of learning. BTSK was again a success, as parents and faculty left campus with smiles on their faces.