At Rockbridge County High School, it is pretty easy to get turned around and confused as a new student. Luckily for new students, this is a beginner’s guide to RCHS. Although right now there is not in- person school in session, there will be eventually. After reading this, new students will be prepared fully.

Step 1: Make sure  to know where the Main Office and Guidance Office are located. They are found as you first walk in the front door. They are the first three doors on the right. Utilize these places. The guidance counselor is always there to help if a student feels lost, and the main office can answer any questions students may have. The guidance counselor for last names A-G is Ms. Buchheit, the guidance counselor for last names H-N is Ms. Pedigo, and the guidance counselor for last names O-Z is Mr. Rapoza.

Step 2: Feeling sick? Nurse Heidi can be found right across the hall from the Main Office. Sheis always there to hand out a bandage or a cough drop, and heal students’ ailments.

Step 3: At the beginning or end of the day, there is a place to see familiar, smiling faces. A wonderful place to see friends is in the Commons. The commons can be found right down the hallway after walking past the Guidance Office. 

Step 4: Looking for Gym class? Across the Commons is the Gym and locker rooms. Down that hall and next to the gym is the side exit, and on the left side of the hall are the classrooms where Health and Driver’s Ed are taught.

Step 5: A handy resource that the school provides is the Library Digital Media Center. This is a great place to do research and focus on assignments. To get there, students climb the stairs in the commons, and go straight down the main hallway until they see the library on the left. Ms. Burks and Ms. Hilliard run the library. The link to the website is https://sites.google.com/rockbridge.k12.va.us/rchs-media-center/home.

Step 6: Hungry? The cafeteria is down the main hallway, up the ramp, and to the left. Take a half-hour break from stressful classes, and enjoy a meal with friends and peers. There are three lunches and the attendees are determined by student’s 4th period classes. There are also outside seating options for nice days.

Although these tips will help you learn the ways of RCHS, they are not the reasons for your attendance. Each department is located in certain hallways throughout the school. When you walk out of the commons into the school, the first halfway on the right holds the History classes. If you continue to walk towards the cafeteria, the hallway you walk down and the next one on the right holds the English and Writing classes with the library passing on the left. 

When you take a left and go up the stairs, you are then looking down the Science hallway. Take the right hallway, and you will find the Language classes. Take a left, and you will be looking down the halfway that holds the Math classes. The final hallway holds the Art classes.

With this “map” of sorts, you can start to piece together where everything is in the school and how you can get to it, despite the fact that we are not actually in the school in the first place. When the time arises, however, and we are back in actual classrooms with actual desks and face-to-face interactions with friends and teachers, you’ll be thankful to have this guide around the school.