Open House is one of the most anticipated events of the year, for both current and prospective Nerinx students. This exciting day also comes with great responsibility and necessary effort on the part of the entire Nerinx Hall community. This year, hundreds of prospective students and their families filtered through the warm, welcoming doors of Nerinx Hall to learn more about what makes this school special. In the days leading up to our Open House, the Admissions Office trained students to give tours or work in classrooms. These sessions prepared student volunteers to represent Nerinx; student ambassadors led these training sessions based on homeroom assignments and they made sure that all students were ready for the big day. The ambassadors thoroughly explained what would be happening in each classroom, how to answer commonly asked questions, and gave fun facts about Nerinx to fill the awkward silences between classrooms. As the day of Open House approached, everyone’s hard work became visible. The students cleaned up their lockers and the teachers straightened up classrooms; the maintenance staff also played an essential role in preparing Nerinx for Open house by moving furniture and hanging up decorations to make the school look even more bright and cheerful.

Sunday arrived, and for the big day, the carpets were freshly steamed, the whole landscape was re-mulched, and the windows were cleaned. Nerinx was decorated with green and white balloons, tall green tables with daisies, and plenty of blue ribbons. Students arrived at Nerinx at 10:30 because the first tours started at 11:00. This gave classroom workers and tour guides adequate time to prepare themselves for their jobs, help the administration with finishing touches, and refamiliarize themselves with their tour routes. Over 270 tour guides were at Open House, and there were even more girls in the classrooms helping out. Upon arrival, families entered Nerinx through one of two entrances in order to minimize the inevitable traffic that arises with a single entrance. This alleviated large crowds and traffic jams. Freshman and senior tour guides waited for families at the gym entrance, while sophomores and juniors waited by the main entrance. The tours concluded in the EAC, where prospective families were invited to check out the different clubs Nerinx has to offer and try some of the delicious cafeteria food. Upon the departure of prospective students and parents, each family was given a forget-me-not seed planter and a “look book” about Nerinx.

Tour guides and classroom volunteers shared that some of the favorite stops were the Independent Art Studio, musical rehearsal, and the biology room where they had the opportunity to play with snakes and see the 3D printer in action. Mrs. Sullivan and Ms. McSorley also made sure the the tour guides were well fed, providing them with cookies, fruit snacks, Papa John’s pizza and sodas. Thanks to the hard work of the entire Nerinx community, and especially the Admissions Department, the 2016 Open House was a success.