Every member of the St. Joe community understands just how important Open House is to the future of our school, and this year was no different. The goal of the day is to welcome any and all potential Angels to our school with open arms, and that’s exactly what all of the volunteers did. The available opportunities that these middle schoolers witnessed proved the welcomeness and inclusivity that St. Joe holds for everyone. 

Due to COVID last year, the 2020 open house required reservations. While this slowed down our flow of girls, the reservations remained helpful for planning the day. Therefore, the admissions team chose to incorporate those reservations once again this year. Despite that planning opportunity, there were mass amounts of unscheduled families who popped in to view the school; close to 250 middle school students walked the academy halls on November 7. 

Associate Admissions Director, Mrs. Clare MacConnell was more than satisfied with how the day turned out. Through the 6+ hour day, volunteers could be found in nearly every classroom.

 “Activity was happening everywhere…we highlighted all possible opportunities,” Mrs. MacConnell said. 

Differentiating St. Joe from other schools, St. Joe chose to showcase all aspects of the school, rather than just the areas for which it is known, and the visitors loved it as much as the students did. 

Junior Aidan Roy displayed her skills as a member of the Honors Art Society that day, and she described that the visitors were “curious to see all of the projects happening.” 

“Their parents were always asking for more information,” Aidan said.

 Many other St. Joe students also noticed this excitement. 

Junior Clare Barry saw the most excitement surrounding Mr. Stein’s hoverboard.

“[It} gave a fun and interactive change of pace from the rest of the tour,” Clare said. 

While the open house was meant for our prospective students, current St. Joe Angels enjoyed the day just as much. The activity that lasted through the day created excitement in the school, and our faculty, students, and visitors all enjoyed the remarkably successful day.