Important Upcoming Events
September 8 - First day of school
September 21 - After School Program begins
September 23 - Back to School Night - details coming soon!
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Who to Contact
If you have a question or concern, please visit our website for a full listing of Who to Contact. This listing includes all of our administrators, our counselors, and who to speak to regarding a specific content area or class. Contact information for all staff members is listed on our website - just click on the name of the person you wish to contact to be redirected to their email address: RCMS Staff Directory.
Parents, We Need Your Consent for Select Digital Resources
At Rachel Carson, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find our school’s list of the resources that require parental consent here: https://carsonms.fcps.edu/adopteddigitalresources
Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year. This page also provides more information about how FCPS carefully reviews digital resources for approval and why we must request your consent before using certain tools. We encourage you to complete the parental consent for digital resources form as soon as possible, as your child will not be able to use the digital resources until we have received your permission. Please reach out to our School Based Technology Specialist, Megan Carr, if you have questions or concerns about the digital resources we’ve chosen to use this year.
RCMS Library Curbside Checkout
Here's how it works:
Students reserve books on the RCMS Library Catalog by placing them on HOLD. Students receive a pop-up message and/or email indicating that the books are available.
Students pick up the books at the next Curbside Checkout: Mondays, 11AM-2PM, outside Door #1 at RCMS (just outside the Main Office). This service will begin on Monday, September 14, 2020.
Please bring your Student ID # printed large on paper to allow for contactless checkout.
Masks are required. Please observe social distancing.
Please allow at least 24 hours for holds to be processed and ready for pickup:
**Any books placed on hold after 2PM on Sunday may not be available for pick-up the next day even if you get a message that is “available”.**
Books will remain on hold for at least nine days from the day the hold is placed, but will be held longer if no one else has placed a hold on it.
You can also return books at this time.
Questions? Contact one of your librarians: Mr. Treakle or Ms. Donovan
We look forward to seeing you at curbside checkout!
Student Attendance for the 2020-21 School Year
FCPS welcomes new and returning families for the 2020-21 school year. Our September 8 virtual opening poses some interesting challenges, so we hope this will help families understand the new attendance routines.
In Virginia, public school students aged 5-18 are required to attend school regularly. That is true whether FCPS is offering distance learning or in-person instruction. Teachers will take attendance during learning sessions and ensure that all students are counted. Parents can assist with this process by doing the following:
- Ensuring that their student(s) logs in to classes on time, and throughout the day.
- Calling or emailing the RCMS school attendance line if their student(s) are unable to participate:
- Returning phone calls or emails when notified that their student(s) did not participate that day.
- Ensuring that your student(s) submit activity logs as directed.
If your child is unable to login to live, face-to-face online instruction with their teacher, the teacher will be recording the class and posting the video within Blackboard/Google Classroom so it can be viewed at a different time. The video can also be used to provide review for all students.
If a parent calls and indicates their student will not be there for a certain class period, they are excused for the class period. Accessing the material later will not change the status of the absence.
If there is no parent contact, and the student failed to log in, the student is unverified for that class period. FCPS bases attendance for secondary students on “present” one or more periods of the day, and reports which periods a student did not appear in class.
FCPS staff members will work with parents to ensure that the transition to virtual learning is as smooth as possible. Help us to help you set your students up for success.
Difficulty logging into FCPS? The Parent Technology help desk may be able to assist: 833-921-3277 or https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/ Communicating any concerns to the school, such as difficulty logging in or having access to FCPS classes.
More information about attendance is available online.
2019-2020 Yearbooks Available for
Rising 8th and 9th Graders
We have a limited number of surplus 2019-2020 yearbooks available for sale on a first come-first served basis. Yearbooks are $35.00. We will have one drive up/pick up day on September 21, from 2:00-6:00PM.
To ensure you receive a yearbook, please order online. If you choose to pay by check, please write checks out to Rachel Carson Middle School in the amount of $35.00 with your students name in the subject line. Online sales will get first priority, if online sales sell out there will be no checks accepted at distribution day.
No cash will be accepted on drive by distribution day.
Current 8th grade students who have not purchased a yearbook, may purchase one through www.MySchoolBucks.com
Current 9th grade students may purchase a yearbook from MySchoolBucks by accessing the link below. Please bring the invoice provided by MySchoolBucks at the time of pickup.
9th Graders 2019-2020 Yearbook Purchase
SCHOOL LUNCH INFORMATION
Free and Reduced Lunch and Consent to Share
Students who may qualify for assistance through the Free or Reduced Meals program must apply each year. If your student was eligible last year and you have not yet reapplied, benefits from last school will expire at the end of September.
If you either need to reapply, or if you believe your family may be eligible this year, click here to learn more.
At the bottom of the webpage there are links to the application in English and Spanish. It is also available in Arabic, Chinese, Tagalog, French and Vietnamese.
Consent to Share Information form
It is very important that families also complete the Consent to Share Information form so that students may also receive free or reduced fees for several programs (e.g. course fees). Without this form, students will not be eligible for free/reduced fees in a number of programs even if they are eligible for the meals program.
The form is available in nine languages on the same webpage. Please scroll to the bottom of the webpage to find the form.
If you have already completed the Free/Reduced Meals application but did not do the Consent to Share Information form, you can still do so.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology: New Information
To all 8th grade students who are interested in applying to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), there has been a change in application window dates. The window to apply for TJHSST is now September 14th at 4:00 pm to October 2nd at 2:00 pm. This change reflects the shift of school opening on September 8th. Please check their website at www.tjadmissions.org, for updated information.
Forms Turn-In
Due to the virtual start for this school year, all forms, required and optional, will have to be completed and submitted electronically. All forms can be found on our website: Required Forms. It is more important than ever that parents have their own Parent SIS Account. If you do not yet have an account, you can learn more about how to obtain one at ParentVue New Account Registration
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