MARIETTA — In preparation of the first day of school, both the Marietta and Cobb school districts are hosting open houses, orientations and registration events for parents and students next week.

Marietta City Schools, which starts classes Thursday, will begin pre-registration, orientations and open house activities Monday. Cobb Schools, which starts classes Aug. 13, has its back-to-school schedules at various times that began yesterday and run through Aug. 10.

Marietta has 8,500 students enrolled for the upcoming school year, and Cobb Schools has around 104,300.

Schedules for Cobb’s 67 elementary schools, 25 middle schools and 16 high schools can be found on the district’s website at www.cobbk12.org. Click on “Our Schools” and select the school where your student is set to attend this school year.

Marietta Middle School Principal Dr. Tim Jones said it’s very important for parents and guardians to participate in orientations because it’s a time for families to learn more about their schools and be clear on school activities.

“The transition for parents is just as stressful as it is for kids, so parents need to feel that they’re familiar with the building as well as students, familiar with the teachers as well as students, and they need to hear the expectations,” he said.

Marietta Middle’s orientation will be between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Families and students will pick up their school schedules and school supply lists, visit homeroom classes, get a tour of the school by attending each students’ classes, watch a video about the school staff and program and have a chance to meet members of the school’s support staff and faculty.

“We have our partners on hand to see who all is vested in our school,” Assistant Principal Rita Mashburn said. “The best part is that (parents and students) get to learn about the instructional programs that we offer.”

Jones said that while middle and high school parents may not be as active in their child’s schools as they are at the elementary school level, they still want to stay engaged in their student’s school life, and the open house will help them do that.

“The parents may not be physically in the building as often, but we always have a lot of questions,” Mashburn said. “It’s not that they aren’t interested, it’s just now a matter of asking questions and getting info, and they don’t have to necessarily be here to do that.”

Parents or guardians can park in front of the school or in the large parking lot behind it. Eighth-graders will enter through the school’s main lobby at the front of the building and seventh-graders through the auditorium lobby.

Other activities for Marietta Schools include:

n Pre-registration: Elementary, Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.; Marietta Sixth Grade, Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Students registered Friday will begin school Aug. 13. Marietta Middle, Monday and Wednesday, 8 to 11 a.m., and Tuesday, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 6 p.m. Marietta High School, by appointment or when space is available Monday and Wednesday.

n Open houses: Elementary schools will be held Wednesday, 9 to 11 a.m.; Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, Monday, 1 to 3 p.m.; Marietta Sixth Grade Academy, Tuesday, 1 to 4 p.m.; and Marietta Performing Learning Center, Monday, 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Marietta High School, freshman orientation and student open house, Tuesday, 9 to 11 a.m.; parent/guardian open house, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

n “Kindergarten Kruise”: Elementary schools, Tuesday. Buses will run during regularly scheduled route times and any elementary students, regardless of grade, can ride the bus with their parent. Parents and students will return to their original pickup location upon completion of the route.

Bus routes can be found on the district’s website at www.marietta-city.org. Click on “Schools” and “Bus Routes” under the tab.