Parent-Teacher Conferences 2008 -- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Which is my assigned conference night?
The assignment is based on the first letter of the student's last name, A-K on Wednesday, October 15th and L-Z on Thursday, October 23rd.
- When can I sign up for the parent-teacher conferences?
This year, the target date for online sign up is scheduled for Friday, October 3th.
However, this target date is contigent upon fulfilling all required timekeeper slots. Please check your email for PTA announcement for the exact opening date in case there is a delay necessitated by insufficent number of volunteers. Once the signup begins, you will be able to make appointments online until 5:00 pm on Monday October 13th if your assigned night is October 15th. You will be able to make appointments online until 5:00 pm on Tuesday October 21st if your assigned night is October 23rd.
- If I don't sign up online, can I still sign up at the conference night?
Yes. For every 10 minutes of possible scheduling time, there will be at least one conference slot reserved for onsite sign up. If you choose not to use the online sign up system, simply go to each of your child's teacher's classrooms to make your appointments on the sign up sheet.
- How do I know who my child's teachers are?
It is your child's responsibility to provide you with the names of his/her teachers. The online sign up also provides his/her teachers' names. But if a student has made late changes to his/her courses, the changes will not be reflected online. In this case, you will need to sign up for that particular teacher onsite.
- How do I obtain my child's student ID?
The student ID number appears on all of the following documents: his/her course schedule, the student ID card, and the report card.
The student ID number will be necessary to pull up the courses and teachers for your child as well as to protect your child's privacy.
- Why do I need to provide my email address?
The PTA needs your email address to send you an acknowledgement of your appointments.
- How do I find out where to meet a particular teacher?
The list of teachers' assigned classrooms for conferences (which may be different from the teachers' regular classrooms) as well as the High School floor plan will be accessible online after you log on to the sign up system with your child's student ID.
- Is there a map of the SHS classrooms?
The High School's floor plan will be available online when you make your appointments. You may, however, want to familiarize yourself with where your child's teachers' classrooms are located so that you can plan your evening logically. You will receive this information in an email outlining Parent-Teacher Conferences from Principal Klemme.
- Can I sign up for the other night not assigned to me?
You cannot reserve appointments online for the night not assigned to you. However, just as in prior years, you can go on the other night if absolutely necessary. In this case, you need to sign up onsite at each teacher's classroom.
- I have two children at SHS; am I allowed to sign up for both nights?
You can sign up online only for your assigned night for both students.
But if you choose to go on the other night for one of the children, you would need to sign up onsite.
Note that in using the online system for both children for your assigned night: after you finish with the first child, you need to log out from his/her Student Page. Then you can sign in again for another child.
- After I have reserved an appointment, can I change it?
Yes. The appointments you make stay in the reservation system. You can log out of the system and come back another day to make more appointments or change them.
However, all reservations for October 15 will be finalized at 5:00 pm on October 13 and those for October 23 finalized at 5:00 pm on October 21, after which time you will not be able to change any appointment.
- The teachers on my appointment sheet are different from those my child told me. Why is that so, and what can I do?
If your child changed one of his/her courses since the first day of school, the online reservation system will not reflect the change. Find out from your child which course was dropped and which was added. In this case, you will need to make the appointment for the teacher of the newly added course onsite, and please make sure you do not make an appointment for the teacher of the dropped course.
- The teacher list given to me by my child has fewer teachers on it than those listed on the sign up system's page on the computer. Why is that?
The Deans who teach the Freshmen Seminars and CivEd classes will not be available for conferences. Please do not attempt to make any appointments online with the Deans, even though their names appear on your child's sign up page on the computer. In addition, some teachers for elective courses and the gym classes may not be available for conferences. Some teachers may only be available on one of the conference nights, not both. Please refer to the printed teacher classroom assignment sheet for accurate information about which of your child's teachers will be available for conferences.
- How do I find out if any of my child's teachers will be absent on my assigned night?
The teacher station directory linked in Mr. Klemme's email indicates those teachers who will be present on only one night. In addition, if all of the time slots on a teacher's page show "Reserved," it means that the teacher will not be present on that night.
In this case, you have the option to come to the high school on the other night when the teacher will be present and sign up for an appointment onsite. If the teacher's schedule is too full
to accommodate your conference, you can always schedule a meeting with the teacher by calling the general office.
- What if one teacher is running late and my next appointment is coming up?
Please take into account this possibility when you reserve the appointments. First of all, the times for all appointments are approximate.
If a teacher is running late, those who have earlier appointments than yours will go in ahead of you based on the order of their appointments.
On the other hand, if a teacher is running early, parents who are waiting will be allowed to go in
as long as there is at least a space of 2-minutes before the next scheduled appointment.
However, you WILL NOT lose your space as long as you arrive at your appointed time according to the timekeeper's watch.
To account for variations of individual watches, you should give yourself extra time between appointments.
If you arrive late according to the timekeeper's watch, as well as the appointment order, you WILL LOSE your space and have to sign up again at the classroom for an available time slot.
Therefore, you should give yourself at least 15 minutes or more between appointments.
Note that the official time is defined locally at each teacher's room by the timekeeper's watch.
- Do I need to get to my appointments a few minutes earlier than scheduled?
Some teachers run early and some run late. Please leave enough time (15 minutes or more) between your appointments to allow for this.
- When I try to schedule my online appointments at 15 minute intervals, there are no available slots left for me to do so for certain teachers. What should I do?
The "Reserved" time slots for each teacher are those being set aside for people who do not wish to sign up on online.
If you are unable to reserve an appointment prior to the conference evening to which you are assigned, you will need to sign up for an appointment onsite.
Please allow yourself enough time to make those appointments when you arrive.
You also should expect to spend the allotted two hours at the school in order to see all of your child's teachers and not feel rushed.
- What if I miss an appointment?
Your child's name will get crossed off the sign up sheet by the timekeeper, and you will need to come to the classroom and sign up again.
- My child is in the A-School. Do I see his/her teachers on the Parent-Teacher conference night?
There is a separate night scheduled for A-School conferences. You will see the teachers who are not A-School teachers on the appropriate Parent-Teacher Conference night. You can sign up for these appointments (and only such non-A-School appointments) online in advance.