Providing a fun night for students while their parents learn about important resources available in the community is the goal of Family Engagement Night, to be held on Friday, May 20, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at Smith Middle School, 645 Kirkwood Pike, Quarryville.

The theme of the event, a joint effort between Smith Middle School and Swift Middle School, will be "Back to the '50s Rock 'n' Roll." Staff members, students and families are encouraged to dress in '50s fashions at the event.

Event organizer Tim Tercha, sixth-grade social studies teacher at Smith Middle School, noted that activities will take place outdoors. "We will have tables on our sidewalk in the front of the building where community organizations from Solanco School District will set up. We also will have an area that will be roped off for an antique car display by my father, John," Tercha said. "There will be games that our students will be running and face painting. A live DJ will play '50s hits, and the PTO will provide hot dogs, chips and drinks. "

Tercha noted that Family Engagement Night was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, but the schools have decided to revive the event this year. "Family Engagement is a committee in the district," Tercha explained. "The committee is composed of teachers, and it's a group that typically tries to organize events like this where organizations in the community get in touch with parents."

Community organizations that will be represented at the event will include Solanco Food Bank, Quarryville Library, SECA, Joining Forces for Families, Compass Mark, First Presbyterian Church of Strasburg, IU13 (Intermediate Unit of Lancaster-Lebanon), Black Rock Retreat, and Solid Rock. Anthony Cavallaro, the mayor of Quarryville, is also scheduled to attend.

"We have a lot of need in our district as far as families go," said Tercha. "(During Family Engagement Night), we put parents and families in touch with services that they might not know about. The kids have something to do while their parents are speaking to a representative from a church or SECA or Black Rock Retreat or a community food bank or a summer camp."

The evening also gives current fifth-graders an opportunity to visit the middle school they may attend next year and for middle-schoolers to get reacquainted. "We want to have both schools come together," said Tercha, whose wife, Danielle, is a sixth-grade teacher at Swift Middle School. "The kids get split up after elementary school, and some go to Swift and some go to Smith, and they may not see each other again until high school. It is great to bring both groups of students together."