It is almost class time. You are walking toward your classroom and see a wave of people – teachers, students, and parents – rushing up and down the gym hill. Everyone is loud and things are chaotic. Today is the day everyone has waited for so long: Family Day.  

Family Day has been a tradition at Webb for a long time. It is the day before the October break when students bring their families onto campus to visit their classes.  

“On Family Day, the parents can experience what the students are going through, and feel what they feel when they are challenged in classes,” said Stephanie Graefe, Humanities department faculty.  

This year, however, Family Day at Webb saw significant changes. With the support of the Deans, Admissions Office, and other faculty members, the schedule was shortened, resulting in classes that are twenty minutes long.  

“I think that we wanted to start later and not at 8 a.m., so we gave a little bit more time to the A-Block teacher, starting at 8:15, while still ending the day around 2:30,” explained Sarah Lantz, Dean of Students.  

In preparation for the event, Webb teachers faced the challenge of structuring their classes in a way that allowed parents to gain an understanding of how each class typically operates in a shorter amount of time. 

As Ms. Graefe described it, “it’s a mini lesson, a sample.”  

“I love having Family Day as a teacher, especially in math. For some reason, parents really enjoy doing math problems, which students always find ironic because math isn’t usually their favorite subject. So, I created an agenda, as I typically do for my classes, and included a challenging problem we hadn’t yet covered, knowing that parents like to solve problems,” Dean Lantz said.  

“I love Family Day,” Ms. Graefe said, “because as a parent myself, I love it when I get to go see my kids’ school, [see] what they do and how they are doing. So, I really enjoy it. It’s also a time [for me] to get to know my students more and meet their families and parents.”  

Webb is working towards better representing different groups of students on Family Day, especially given the challenges and costs international students face in bringing their families from overseas for the event. 

According to a recent poll sent out to Webb students, 65.6% of the 61 respondents were boarding students, and of those, 58.5% were international. While the sample size is still small compared to the entire student body at Webb, it still represents a significant portion of students who may find it difficult to bring their family members to campus.  

Angelina Wu (‘28), an international freshman at Webb this year, felt a little sad when her parents did not show up, especially during in-class activities when students were asked to interact with their parents.  

“I could only wander around,” said Angelina. “Look at other people and wait for time to pass.” In addition, during the day, she could not share her feelings with her family due to the time difference; it was midnight for her family in China.   

Aside from that, Angelina enjoyed Family Day overall, because she liked the schedule where parents could visit all their kids’ classes, with ten-minute breaks in between so things are not as rushed.  

“The extra time between classes,” observed Angelina, “could be used by the parents to find the location of their child’s next class,” Angelina said.  

On the other hand, some students had mixed feelings about the event’s shortened classes and allocated free time.  

“I think that Family Day is good in theory, but poor in execution,” said Natália Mosaquites (‘26). “We had twenty-minute classes, which, in reality, weren’t actually twenty minutes, because by the time everybody got there and sat down, it was time to leave again.” 

While students enjoyed showing their parents around campus, many felt like the drastically shortened classes were chaotic.  

Additionally, with only twenty minutes, some believed that classes weren’t being accurately portrayed. This, paired with the stress of arriving at each class on time with their parents, contributed to some students’ chaotic perception of Family Day.  

“I had to rush my parents and siblings to each class, while also worrying where parents go during the free time for students. It was just very chaotic and stressful at times, but I did appreciate the experience,” said Natália.  

“I was having to rush my parents and siblings to each class, while also worrying where parents go during the free time for students. It was just very chaotic and stressful at times, but I did appreciate the experience nonetheless” said Natália (’26). 

Nonetheless, families still had the unique opportunity to view Webb through their child’s eyes —an invaluable experience that outweighed any scheduling dilemmas.  

“I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see a day at Webb through the eyes of my child. It was so great to meet my son’s teachers’ friends and other families and get a real feel for what day to day life is like. I really appreciate all the extra time and care that was put into making the day so special,” said Nicole Okorocha, parent of Ray Okorocha ‘26. 

Family Day remains a meaningful tradition at Webb, acting as one of the few times when both boarding and day student families can unite within the Webb community. Although the altered schedule received varying opinions, it further emphasizes how much work scheduling the event requires and how important it is for those planning to take all groups attending into consideration.