About 245 approaching high school students walked through St. Joe’s doors on November 6 hoping to take a peek at the education and environment St. Joe offers.  This massive event was one of the most important for the admissions department.  It demanded countless hours of preparation from everyone at St. Joe, from the angel ambassadors to maintenance to Mrs. Clare MacConnell ‘01 and Mrs. Dianne Dunning-Gill ‘88.  The entire faculty and staff worked hard to make this event, known as open house, as impressive as it is.

While the open house only lasted a single day, it came with multiple days of preparation.  Mrs. MacConnell and Mrs. Dunning-Gill had been preparing for the event months in advance.  They provided pre-registration forms to determine what students were interested in, so they could match each prospective student to an angel ambassador with similar interests.  However, curiosity led many families to walk up to the event, so everyone helping out had to adjust accordingly.  

Mrs. MacConnell attested that while open house was exciting, it could get a little overwhelming because of all the commotion.

“We had about 111 walk-ups, so that can make things a little bit crazy.  You kind of just have to do the best that you can” Mrs. MacConnell said. 

Other preparations took place to ensure St. Joe’s open house was excellent.  The admissions department had to partner with teachers in each department to develop handouts for prospective students’ families to take with them.  The handouts included the various classes each department offered and other helpful information.  They also created an interactive gift to send each student home with: a water bottle with stickers.  Every department had its own sticker, and each student could take one to put on their water bottle along the tour route. 

Not just the faculty and staff helped out with the event.  The angel ambassadors played a massive role in open house.  They were the families’ tour guides.  Without them, no one would give each family a tour.  

Mrs. Dunning-Gill thought the ambassadors did a “fantastic job” serving as tour guides.

“They took families through the school building, introduced them to all the different academic department and organizations.  The Angel Ambassadors serve as a representative of St. Joe, and they make a lasting impression with prospective families.  Other Angel Ambassadors also helped the Admissions office with preparing tour materials, printing off registration forms for tours, and working in classrooms,” Mrs. Dunning-Gill said.

Mrs. MacConnell and Mrs. Dunning-Gill tried their best to make open house a fun and exciting day for everyone, prospective students and angel ambassadors alike.  It is safe to say that they succeeded.  

Mrs. MacConnell shared that she received terrific feedback from families at open house.

“We have just only received positive feedback on how knowledgeable and welcoming all of our St. Joe girls were!” she said.

The families were not the only people that were happy about their experiences.  Sophomore Elise Wagner conveyed how exciting it was to be an angel ambassador during open house.

“I really enjoyed giving aspiring St. Joe students a tour of our school.  It was so cool to see their curiosity, interest, and excitement.  It reminded me of how much I love being an angel ambassador,” Elise said.

This year, St. Joe’s open house was a big hit.  Many prospective students and families were welcomed and educated on what life is like as a St. Joe student.  Hopefully, we will see some of their familiar faces in the years to come, but for now, the doors to open house have closed.