Open house, Orientation Night improves communication

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

To avoid this illusion, Ritzville Grade School and Lind-Ritzville High School held an open house and Freshmen Parent Orientation Night on Tuesday evening. Parents, guardians, students and staff met together to communicate face to face.

LRHS has not held an open house in the past several years. The purpose of reviving the event, explained LRHS principal Ronanda Liberty, was “to welcome parents and guardians into our school to meet staff, look around and get familiar with our schools. They were able to visit classrooms and see curriculum materials as well.”

Unifying the goals of parents, guardians, and teachers is a direct result of the open house that LRHS has not reaped the benefits of in a while.

“Although [teachers and parents] have different roles, ultimately we’re all on the same team with the shared goal of helping our students move into adulthood as prepared for success as possible,” continued Liberty. “Communication along the way is very important.”

Face-to-face communication, as opposed to its digital counterpart, has high value.

“First-hand communication is best. It allows everyone to gain clear understanding of student needs, goals, circumstances, etc.,” Liberty believed, adding, “It also allows for the genuine building of relationships. Like with any team, when the players understand each other and communicate, they have a much higher rate of success.”

This year, emphasis has been placed on ensuring that freshman receive the guidance they need to be successful throughout their high school careers.

Consequently, Liberty continued, “We scheduled the second hour to provide information to parents and guardians of freshman to help provide them with information for success in high school.”

“We’re still pretty early in the year to look at data, but my observations and feedback I’ve heard from others indicate our freshmen are starting out positively,” said Liberty.

Between Link Crew and the Freshman Parent Orientation Night, many freshmen reported that their transition to high school is going smoothly.

Freshman Julia Klein advocates how the guidance has improved the start of her school year, “Link Crew has greatly helped our freshmen class adjust to high school. Having a group of older high schoolers go out of their way to be helpful and encouraging is just awesome.”

Freshman Ashlynn Norton also appreciates the support system that has been established for her and her peers: “It feels really good to know that there is always going to be someone there for us new freshmen,” she explained.

With such strong communication strategies set in place, Norton concluded, “We are able to ask anything.”