We have a look at one of two Back to School nights last week for parents at Faith Christian School. You can view photos in the slideshow above, or in a gallery with captions here. Here’s more from the event on Thursday, Aug. 30:

A day in the life of a student. That’s what parents of Faith Christian School’s middle and upper school students got a taste of last Thursday at Back to School Night. Parents attended all the classes that their child attends on a daily basis, on an abbreviated schedule. Each class was only seven minutes long, with a short lesson planned for them by the teacher. Some teachers even turned the tables on the parents, and put them to work solving puzzles and doing other types of assignments.

The back to school night kicked off with a short introduction from the head of the middle and upper schools, Thomas Mann, who described Faith Christian as an “amazingly happy place.” Indeed, this sentiment was repeated from all the parents interviewed at this event. Leslie Clinton, who has a 10th and an 11th grader at Faith, said that “the kids love all their teachers and the relationships they have with other students.”

After the introduction, parents were given their child’s schedule depending on which grade they were in. I followed the 10th grade schedule and spoke to some of the parents about what they or their students are looking forward to in the upcoming year. Beth Sayers, a mother of a 10th grader, says “my daughter is most excited about art – she wants to be an artist.” She went on to say that what she as a mother is most excited about is the fact that Faith Christian School helps students to “develop a sense of self before they go off on their own. My daughter is figuring that out.”

After the event was over, I was able to catch up with Beth Sayers’ daughter, Katie Sayers. Katie, who is involved with basketball, soccer and art, agreed with her mother that she is most excited about art. She also said that she’s looking forward to “challenging herself a bit more with the advanced classes.”

Faith Christian School opened its doors in 1997 as an upper school only, located at Virginia Heights Baptist Church in the Grandin area.  Since then, the school has moved to a building in Southwest County, has grown and now offers grades kindergarten through 12^th.

Judy Walker, the administrative assistant for the middle and upper school, said that “every year is a fresh start. We’re very excited to have some great young teachers coming in who are very enthusiastic about the classes they are teaching.”

– Photos and text by Elizabeth Watts Jones