Get Acquainted Day
Now that October is here, it's time to start planning your Open House events.
Actually, it's kind of late to start planning your open house events, since your first open house of the year should be in September or October.
There are still schools that bemoan the fact that their enrollment is declining, then schedule their ONLY Open House of the year during Catholic Schools Week. Of course, for those schools in the Northeast, there's a good chance that it will be "snowed out."
Many private schools have at least five Open House events - one during each of the following months: September, October, November, February and March.
There are also advocates of having monthly Open House events, or even WEEKLY Open Houses.
But here's a twist on the Open House, and you can start planning for it now. It's a "Get Acquainted Day." Here's some verbiage from a Press Release from a local college that holds them. Note the Press Release format too:
PR 2005-592
NEWS RELEASE
For Information:
Don Orlando
Director, Public Relations
Phone 724 537-4560
FAX 724 537-4587
e-mail: pr@stvincent.edu
www.stvincent.edu
Oct. 6, 2005
SAINT VINCENT
COLLEGE ANNOUNCES ADMISSION
GET ACQUAINTED DAY NOV. 13
LATROBE, PA--Saint Vincent College Office of Admission and Financial Aid has announced plans for an upcoming Get Acquainted Day Open House for prospective students and their families on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Get Acquainted Day features a series of short talks on academics, admission procedures, financial aid and college life at Saint Vincent. In addition, the day includes a tour of the campus by student volunteers and an opportunity to meet with faculty of various academic departments and programs.
The day begins with registration from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. Early arrivals are welcome to attend a 9:30 a.m. mass in the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica as well as brunch at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Center Dining Hall.
Throughout the day there will be an introduction to Saint Vincent
College, admission and financial aid presentations, a student panel, campus tours and opportunities to meet faculty, administrators and coaches.
To register or for further details, contact the Office of Admission and Financial Aid at Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650-2690, phone 1-800-782-5549, fax 724-532-5069, e-mail admission@stvincent.edu, or register online at http://www.stvincent.edu/admission/visit.
It seems to me that you could adopt this for your school to schedule such an event on a Sunday in November (yes, a Sunday). Mass...Brunch...Current parents have small group sessions as to what to expect, a presentation on financial aid and admission procedures, etc.
Note that this is different than an Open House. The Open House should run itself, so that prospective parents can see current students interacting with one another, see how the teachers act in the classroom situation, etc. This is held on a Sunday so that parents can have their questions answered about the school without being disturbed by office announcements, emergency phone calls, change class buzzers and bells, and the typical schedule of the day. It's also "another invitation" to come and experience the school. The more of these "emotion tying events" you have, the more that prospective parents feel that they're part of the school Community.
