October 13, 2011
Open House is this Sunday.
It's hard to overstate the importance of Open House to our school. In the course of just three hours we expect around 2,000 prospective students and their families to visit campus.
It's no secret that today's marketplace for Catholic and independent schools is highly competitive. Our goal this year is for Open House to display the full range of the school experience, an experience so engaging that it lends significant weight to a family's decision that Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is the right choice. Open House is our best opportunity to move curious but uncertain families to the ranks of the committed.
In discussion with my colleagues at the beginning of the year, I urged them to strive for a "wow factor" at this year's Open House. We invite families into our school and after they leave their impressions of us and the subsequent word of mouth impressions are powerful marketing tools for Good Counsel. We want to hear of people talking about their visit in the car, over the dinner table, at the supermarket checkout.
Watching how my colleagues have gone about crafting a "wow" experience for our guests in these weeks leading up to the big day has been a treat.
Our visitors will see and interact with teachers and a large number of our students. Experiments will take place in science labs. Performances will take place in our black box theater and in the gallery. Students will display some of their best work in classes and share their reflections on such things as retreats and service. Our chapel will resound with the voices of Chorus. Some seniors will even be working live on college applications.
Visitors always tell us that our building is magnificent. We love it, too, but it's just a building. What makes it a school is what goes on inside. We are blessed to have faculty and staff utterly committed to quality education in an environment where relationships are cultivated with each student.
Our guests on Sunday will see a school that works. It is a place where students are active, the opportunities are extraordinary, and the caring is unmistakable.