(Photos courtesy Juan Alonso)
It’s a big night for thousands of local families, those of students and/or staff at the two biggest high schools on the peninsula: It’s Open House night for both West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School – where the new public art shown above, Juan Alonso‘s “Sentinels” (read about it in our August story) will be dedicated as part of the event.

At Seattle Public Schools campuses, “open house” usually means the time for families to come meet their kids’ teachers and find out how things are going so far in the new school year (as opposed to independent schools, which often have “open houses” for prospective families to come learn more about the school). Both schools are hoping for big turnouts:

WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL: Families are invited to gather in the gym for a brief program at 6:30 pm, and then they’ll be dispersed to classrooms, to find out about curriculum and meet teachers. The event is scheduled to continue till 8:30 pm. (Note that it’s Homecoming Week at WSHS and you’ll see signs of school spirit – also note that there’s a barbecue at the school on Saturday afternoon, before the big game – details on the WSB Events calendar.)

CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL: The night begins with a 9th-grade parent social at 5 pm in the Galleria; the all-school general program begins at 6 pm, after a welcome starting at 5:30 pm, with the night’s schedule and progress reports handed out in the Commons. The main program begins at 6 pm in the auditorium, with presentations plus the official dedication of “Sentinels.” Rotation through classrooms will start at 6:30 and last for six ten-minute periods, with five-minute transitions inbetween.