Parents roamed the campus with schedules clutched in their hands like life preservers. Their frowns and confused expressions were etched onto their faces as they wandered around the buildings aimlessly while Link Leaders tried their very best to direct them to classrooms. Yes, Back to School Night had arrived.

Every year on Back to School Night, parents are given the chance to attend their child’s classes and learn more about the teachers, the classroom policies and the overall classroom environment. In previous years, over 100 Link leaders were required to attend the event — helping pass out thousands of schedules to parents, and directing parents around the confusing campus. However, this year only 20 Link leaders were needed as administration has requested that parents print out their child’s schedules at home for the sake of saving paper. And as an extra added bonus, the school was also able to save some money.

By going green this year, administration took a promising first step in converting to a system that is less paper-dependent. In previous years, administration was printing thousands of schedules, hundreds of which did not even get used. Now, not only was administration given the chance to save a rain forest, but also the chance to cut back on excessive spending. The cost of printing these schedules is no longer the school’s responsibility and now our school budget can be redirected to more important uses.

While Back to School Night may be important in allowing parents to experience a night in their child’s shoes, the printing of 2600 plus schedules isn’t very cost-effective. This excess money could potentially be used for more resources for student life and academic competitions that would be just as valuable in building the school’s reputation among parents and in the community. So, if parents really want to attend the evening of learning about their child’s classes, , then they can at least print out their own schedules. Administration can keep the cost down, and parents can still have their Back to School Night. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Especially the trees.