RCMS Weekly Announcements Week of April 17

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 04/18/2017 03:00 PM EDT

Dates to Remember:

In This Issue:

1. Spring SOL Dates

2. NEW RCMS School Store

3. National Junior Honor Society

4. Dine and Donate

1. Spring SOL Dates are Posted:  Dates have been posted for the Spring SOL window in May.  Please mark these dates on your calendar and avoid planning appointments that will pull your student from school. 

2.  NEW RCMS School Store:  Rachel Carson MS is excited to offer MySchoolBucks®! This online payment service provides a quick and easy way to add money to your student’s meal account, the new school store is now available so you are able to purchase PE uniforms, pay library fines and also pay for field trips using a credit/debit card or electronic check.

In the 2017-2018 school year parents will also be able to pay for student fees using the MySchoolBucks system!

You can also view recent purchases, check balances, and set-up low balance alerts for FREE!

MySchoolBucks provides:

  • Convenience - Available 24/7 on the web or through our mobile app for your smartphone
  • Efficiency - Make payments for all your students, even if they attend different schools within the district.  Eliminate the need for your students to take money to school.
  • Control - Set low balance alerts, view account activity, recurring/automatic payments & more!
  • Flexibility - Make payments using credit/debit cards and electronic checks.
  • Security – MySchoolBucks adheres to the highest security standards, including PCI and CISP.

Enrollment is easy!

  1. Go to www.MySchoolBucks.com and register for a free account.
  2. Add your students using their school name and student ID.
  3. Make a payment to your students’ accounts with your credit/debit card or electronic check.

A program fee may apply.  You will have the opportunity to review any fees and cancel if you choose, before you are charged. 

If you have any questions, contact MySchoolBucks directly:

3. National Junior Honor Society: 

  • 8th grade members: All 10 NJHS service hours must be verified in x2VOL by Friday, May 5th at 2:15. Students who do not meet the service hour requirement will not be invited to the medal ceremony in June. Please contact your team’s liaison if you have questions about your service hours.
  • NJHS applications will be mailed to eligible 7th grade students in the middle of May. The NJHS recognizes students for excellence in Scholarship, Character, Leadership, Citizenship, and Service.  Membership in the society indicates that a student attains, demonstrates, and promotes all of these qualities.  All seventh grade students who have maintained a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) in the first three quarters of seventh grade will be invited to complete an application. The 3.5 GPA is calculated by the county office and not at RCMS.  The query used to calculate a 3.5 uses 3.4999.  Any average below the 3.4999 is not considered a 3.5. Please contact your counselor if you have questions about your GPA.

4. Dine and Donate: Don't forget -- when you visit any Glory Days Grill from March 2-May 2, Glory Days will donate 10% of your total food and beverage purchase to RCMS.  To receive this donation, have your child bring a copy of your itemized guest check to either Ms. Donlen (Room A209) or Ms. Mann (Room A104).  Happy dining -- we appreciate your support!

Summer Camp Information:

The South Lakes HS Athletic Booster Club is sponsoring summer camps for boys and girls basketball, field hockey, girls lacrosse, coed volleyball and football.  Registration: http://www.southlakesathletics.org/main/campsclinics. Register now as space is limited!   Please direct questions to:  seahawkboostertreasurer@outlook.com. 

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Summer 2017 Enrichment Institutes and Camps:  Enrichment institutes and camps focus on specific areas such as fine and performing arts, technology, study skills, science, and foreign language. FCPS and non-FCPS students are welcome.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Camp, Tech Adventure Camp (TAC), Institute for the Arts (IFTA), and the Elementary Institute for the Arts (E-IFTA) classes will be held at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Programs run between July 10 and August 4, 2017.  Bus transportation is provided from select high schools and middle schools outside of the Lake Braddock pyramid. Transportation to and from the selected high schools is the responsibility of the parent/guardian or student.

Grade level eligibility for each program refers to the current 2016-17 school year. Click on central institutes and camps for additional information. 

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Dear TJ community,

This summer we will be running weekly science and technology camps for middle school students (different options between July 10-August 4) and for high school students (different options between July 10-July 27).  The summer learning experience is open to all current grades 7-11 students who reside in the region, including those that do not attend TJ.  Transportation is available for those who live in Fairfax County for $55 per week.  These inquiry-oriented learning experiences aim to foster interest in STEM through problem-based, project-based, and authentic activities without a grade.  Simply put, learning solely for enjoyment. 

If your child does not have plans during these times and wishes to explore a STEM area in depth, please consider our summer camps.  A description of the different institute camps is available at our summer school website (https://www.tjhsst.edu/research-academics/summer-school/).  Registration is online based on a first come, first served basis.  The registration link will go live next week.  Middle School Institute registration begins on March 13 and High School Institute registration begins on March 15. Questions about the courses should be directed to Craig Lewis (CALewis1@fcps.edu).

Gooooooooooo Colonials!!!

Sincerely,

Evan Glazer
 Principal, TJHSST

Other FCPS schools are sharing....

From TJHSST: TJ is holding a Techstravaganza on Saturday, May 20th from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM This annual hands-on STEM activity fair is for students aged 5-14.  Please register at http://www.techstravaganza.org/#event.  Admission is free.

From Waples Mill Elementary School:  Waples Mill ES will hold a 5K Fun Run on April 29 and they are looking for 8th graders from local middle schools to volunteer to help on race day and the day before for packet pick-up.  Student volunteers are eligible to receive service hours.  More information can be found here:  2017 Teen Volunteers for the WMES 5K Fun Run

From South Lakes High School:  Are you an 8th grader interested in joining the South Lakes Dance Team? There will be auditions for the fall dance team on May 9, 10, and 11 at South Lakes High School in the auxiliary gym from 3:15-5:15 PM. There will also be an interest meeting on May 4 at South Lakes in room 263 at 3:05 PM to find out about how auditions will be conducted. If you have any questions about the dance team, please contact Ms. Marinucci at South Lakes High School (nmmarinucci@fcps.edu).

From South Lakes High School:  Cross Country interest meetings will be held at South Lakes High School on April  20th, May 9th and June  6th at 6 PM in room 149.  This is a good time to learn about Cross Country and have all your pre-season questions answered.  We will discuss summer training and camps, racing, practices during school and general requirements for being on the team. 

Also remember Cross Country will begin at 8AM on Tues., August 01, 2017, at South Lakes High School for all students wanting to try-out for the 2017 Cross Country team. 

Forms needed to try out can be found on www.southlakesathletics.org and must be completed/returned to the Activities Office prior to August 1st. 

-Physical Examination Form VHSL – Must be dated May 1st, 2017 or later

-Emergency Care Form

-Extracurricular Participation Policy Form

-Parent Volunteer Information Form

-Concussion Online PowerPoint on www.fcps.edu/sports. Parents and Athletes must complete prior to tryouts. 

If you have any questions pertaining to Cross Country, please contact Coach Schuler at joseph.schuler@fcps.edu or 703-715-4629 or come to one of the meetings.  Additional info will soon be posted on www.southlakesathletics.org underneath the Cross Country tab.

From Westfield High School:  Westfield High school will be hosting its 2nd Annual Run for Remembrance 5K and 1K Runs in honor of the late Mike Greiner, a Westfield English teacher and the late Conor Bouveron, a 2015 graduate.  Both of these beloved community members died of heart related complications in 2016 and 2015 respectively.  The event will take place on Saturday, May 20.  Races will begin at 8:00 AM.

In addition to the normal awards given out to top finishers, we are creating categories for our students and teachers including: Fastest middle school student (male and female), fastest elementary school student, grades 1-3 (male and female), fastest elementary school student (grades 4-6), fastest teacher (male and female), greatest participation by a particular school, etc…

Thank you for your willingness to help us come together as a community to honor Mike and Conor’s memory, and to help us support heart health awareness.