Open House Day Reminders

Open House is during the last 30 minutes of your lessons.

BEFORE OPEN HOUSE:

Make sure to read Open House Goals and Reminders and show up 15min early (as advised) so you know how to set up.
When you say hi to the front desk, please remind them that it is open house and that parents will be coming to watch the lessons and that the pool area may be busier than usual.
POOL TEMP: Make sure to take the pool temp right when you get to the pool (as per procedure). If pool temp is under 82 degrees and kids are shivering, you need to do a group text message to the office and Clo (on her personal phone) who will most likely delay your open house, as pool temperature is essential for a successful open house.
WALNUT GROVE, RICHMOND, & ABBOTSFORD COACHES: As lane markers are not up, please use toys at the edge of the pool to mark lanes for the kids so they swim straight. See pic below of how to do it (but use toys, not flippers).

AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS:

Anyone attending Open House who is not part of the swimming program must sign the Open House Waiver for Adults and Children (grandparents, aunts, siblings, etc.).

Waivers are found in the Open House binder and should be immediately filled out upon opening the door to let the children in at the beginning of class – don’t wait for Open House time as this will throw you completely off schedule.

a. When you open the doors, ask the parents if anyone else is coming. If they say yes, tell them you’ll leave the waiver by the door so they can sign while they wait for Open House to start.

Double check that everyone is on the waiver as you let them in.

Don’t wait for late parents, start Open House immediately. You have a strict timeline to get through, and many coaches struggle to get through all the skills in 30 minutes.

WARM UP YOUR STUDENTS:

Warm up kids as per Open House Cheat Sheet: tape laminated one to the side of the pool (do not do the warm up listed in the Open House lesson plan)
Watch your times – for example, the warm up and treading is only three minutes. Don’t go over time, or you won’t get to show parents the most important skills, which occur at the end of Open House.
If the pool (NOT hot tub) is too busy with hotel guests: go to the door and postpone open house to next week (tell the parents) and do a group text message to the office and Clo (on her personal phone) informing them the day and time of the open house you postponed.

DURING OPEN HOUSE:

TIME: Everyone has been running out of time to run their open houses. Pay attention to the times allocated for each skill on the lesson plan. Don’t spend too long on warm ups; make sure to watch the time so you can get through the WHOLE open house (the last part of the open house is MOST important). See pictures to the right.
There should only be one caregiver attending Open House, who should be barefoot or wearing inside flipflops (that have never been worn outside before).

AT THE END OF OPEN HOUSE:

Get your kids out for the last 5 minutes of class to schmooze with the parents and allow the kids to towel off.
Find the Open House Re-Reg Chart where you filled out the kid portion already.

a. Add the mom’s names, then talk to them about reserving their lesson time for the next session by saying:

“We encourage you to reserve your class for the Fall Session to keep building on the skills your kids have already acquired.”

Ask them if they will be reserving their class for next session. If they say no, use the convincing arguments at the top of the Open House Re-Reg Chart.
Fill the Open House Re-Reg Chart with what the moms say about reserving their time for next session.

a. Only if it is currently Spring Session: go on to talk about our Summer program after discussing reserving for Fall.

Have fun, and remember personality is everything 😊

🤔WHAT TO DO IF A PARENT MISSED OPEN HOUSE

If a parent from a group lesson missed Open House and asks if they can watch this week:

This is fine, but put on a 5 minute maximum show of the hardest skills at the end of the Swim to Survive lesson while the other kids play.
- Hardest skills means little kids should do their furthest swim with and without flippers, and advanced kids should work on FC, BC, EB, BS, etc.
Keep your scan on all kids while this is happening.
If it’s not safe, then don’t do an Open House.

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