RBHS invited eighth grade students from the Gentry (GMS) and Jefferson (JMS) Middle Schools to its campus on Friday, Jan. 19. The original day for the visit was Tuesday, Jan. 16; however, it was rescheduled to Friday because of a snow day.
Around 500 eighth grade students participated in a school tour from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Student chaperones took small groups on a tour of the RBHS campus.
Civics teacher Michael McGinty played a key role in organizing the operation and explained how the eighth grade students were able to see the entire school.
“The planning [for Friday] actually began last year in the Transition Committee at RBHS,” McGinty said. “The initial plans and ideas were sketched out at the behest of guidance and administration. The [purpose of the visit] was to provide enrollment information, to introduce the eighth graders to the culture of RB and to inform [them] how they can be involved in the clubs and activities offered at RBHS.”
McGinty met with the principals and staff of the GMS and JMS in October of 2017. He said both schools were on board with the eighth grade students visiting RBHS after hearing the purpose of the visit. Furthermore, he assured the staff of the middle schools that he would select student chaperones to give a detailed tour of RBHS and also share some of their personal experiences along the way.
“Student chaperones for the tour and panel were selected from the Student Council, MAC Scholars and [a body of] student volunteers,” McGinty said. “Club leaders [were also able to] set up their booths for the club fair.”
Diana Curtright, an eighth grade student from GMS, visited RBHS from and enjoyed her experience touring the school. She said she was surprised by how much larger RBHS is than GMS and also how happy she was that it had a friendly environment.
“The Fashion Fabrics and Construction room and the physics room had really awesome decorations and [objects] to touch and interact with,” Curtright said. “I [also] really liked the art room because of the lights and the future of opportunities it held, [since] you can take [an art class] for multiple years.”
Curtright also became interested in multiple RBHS clubs while she toured the school. Among them were Key Club, Bruins United, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Young Republicans.
[quote]“Student chaperones for the tour and panel were selected from the Student Council, MAC Scholars and [a body of] student volunteers,” McGinty said. [/quote] “Some parts [of the tour] were more boring than others due to my disinterest in some [of the] courses,” Curtright said. “But [overall], [the tour] was informative and well planned.”
Jim Whaley, an eighth grade student from JMS, also found the Fashion Fabrics and Construction room to be very interesting. Compared to JMS, Whaley found RBHS large and confusing to get around but was happy to get a tour of the school.
“The art classroom was my favorite because of the spinning chairs,” Whaley said. “I am [definitely] going to take geometry honors and physics honors [next year], and I am [also] interested in the newspaper writing class.”
Whaley and Curtright also look forward to the freedoms that RBHS will provide for them in their freshman years. Both students admire the culture and can’t wait to meet their new future teachers. For McGinty, the excitement for freshman year is the best reward he could receive after planning the eighth grade student visits.
“It took an amazing staff, building leadership and incredible students to make the event work, and it seems to have been a successful event,” McGinty said. “We can’t wait to improve upon our collaborative efforts moving forward.”

Do you have any friends or family coming to RBHS next year? Let us know in the comments below.