Upcoming Dates:
March 15: Monday Asynchronous Day - Attendance Check-in required
Students should check 4th period Google Classroom and Learning Calendars.
March 26: Two Hour Early Release for Students, Last day of Q3
March 29-April 2: Spring Vacation
View events on our school website.
A Note from Dr. Goodloe
Dear Rocky Run Families and Students,
It has been a great week at Rocky Run MS! We welcomed about 200 7th grade students to the building this week for in-person learning. I continue to be impressed by the positive energy, flexibility and resilience of our students and staff.
We are looking forward to the warmer weather and anticipate getting students outside during the school day. We are also very hopeful that we will be able to host school events on site to recognize and celebrate the end of the year and especially our 8th graders. More coming soon!
SOL Information:
Please take note of the important information regarding spring SOL assessments below. We will host a Town Hall for families to share the most up to date information the week of March 22.
Update Health Forms:
All in person learners received a note from me on 3/11 encouraging families to update health forms. All families should review the health form in ParentVue and add any existing health conditions that mirror Covid sympoms (i.e. season allergies, chronic headaches, intestinal issues, etc). The more information that is documented, the more accurate the response will be by our School Health Aide or school staff when the student is on school grounds.
Parents/guardians are reminded that they can provide this information online via their FCPS 24/7 (Blackboard) accounts within the weCare@school module.
You can download the form from the FCPS website or update it in ParentView:
Recent Student Successes:
Our seven Battle of the Books teams have finished this year’s competition with 22 other schools! They have adapted to competing virtually really well, using only a Google Doc to communicate between team members during live competition. Students have expanded their love of reading, made new friends, and kept their competition fire alive this year. Although we finish with Battle of the Books by Spring Break, students are already asking, “What’s the plan for next year?” Thank you to our coaches, Ms. Grover, Ms. Bolton, and Ms. Sweeney.
Our Rams continue to do great things in-person, online and in the community. Check out this summer of some amazing extracurricular accomplishments: View HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EH11rVKfq5066gQ9WZG6T1Xndnxv7APg/view
Student Learning Status Update (in-person or virtual):
Parents can check their child’s enrollment intent in ParentVUE by clicking on “Student Info” on the left hand menu and scrolling to the bottom of the page to find the “Return to School Responses” field. Due to staffing and social distancing constraints, we are not able to approve any changes at this moment. If you would like to make a request to change and would like for your child to be placed on the waitlist, please complete the RRMS RTS Intent Change Request Form.You will hear from us as soon as we are able to process your requests. No changes will be accepted after 3/26. Contact our Director of Student Services, Ms. Hong at yjhong@fcps.edu for any questions.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions, concerns or feedback.
Sincerely,
Amy Goodloe, Principal
atgoodloe@fcps.edu
@DrGoodloe
Together WE can do VIRTUALLY anything!
Meet the Rocky Run MS Staff: View our Staff Directory.
Visitor Access and Student Item Drop off:
Please note that visitor access to all FCPS school buildings is limited. As some students return to school in the building we ask:
- The building will open at 7:10 AM.
- On time arrival for students is no later than 7:25. Class begins at 7:30.
- Please call the main office (703-802-7700) if you need to drop a student off late or pick up early.
- All students will have access to FREE breakfast and lunch each day, including items to accommodate dietary restrictions. Please do not drop off lunches, water bottles or snacks.
- Music teachers understand when students forget their instruments. Please do not drop off forgotten instruments, as we cannot guarantee it can get to the students' class
Attendance Reporting:
- Students are expected to attend in-person on their assigned days
- If a student must attend virtually on an in-person day, a parent/guardian will be asked to verify that the student is attending online.
- To report a change in attendance (i.e. appointment, sick, etc.), please contact Rocky Run MS through the Attendance Process:
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Absence/Tardy Phone Line: 703-802-7782
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Absence/Tardy Email: RockyRunMiddle.Attendance@fcps.edu
- Report an absence online
SOL Updates and Opt-Out Information
All our FCPS students are scheduled to take the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) during the end of the school year between late April and early June 2021. Given the challenges of the pandemic, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is allowing students to opt-out of SOL testing for this year. Should you want your child to opt out of testing this year, please fill out the following form as soon as you can so that scheduling the tests can be finalized. Testing schedules and dates will be released as soon as we can.
The tests that are scheduled to be given this year are:
- Reading 7
- Reading 8
- Science 8
- Math 7
- Math 8
- Algebra 1 (Verified Credit for HS)*
- Algebra 2 (Verified Credit for HS)*
- Geometry (Verified Credit for HS)*
If your child decides to opt-out of a verified course required for graduation, they will need to take the appropriate SOL test in the Fall of 2021. If you have any questions, you can contact our School Testing Coordinator, Karl Gussow at ksgussow@fcps.edu.
7th Grade FLE Lessons
This is a reminder that the Health and Physical Education Department at RRMS will be teaching 7th grade Human Growth and Development (HGD) the second to last week of the third quarter. The dates for 7th grade (HGD) will be Tuesday March 16 to Friday March 19th. 8th grade Human Growth and Development (HGD) will be taught the last week of the third quarter Tuesday March 23rd to Friday March 26th. Parents can review the materials online or in the Library be making an appointment during school hours. If you wish to opt out your child from all or part of Family Life Education (FLE) for this second half of the school year or would like more detailed information about grade level programs, please access the opt out forms, opt out letter, and program descriptions for each grade level at http://www.fcps.edu/is/hpe/fle.shtml.
If you want to opt out your child of any FLE instruction, please download the opt-out form, fill in the appropriate information, and return it to your child’s health education teacher (Mrs. Alderman, Mrs. Larsen, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Basl, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Mondres). Please email Martha Alderman at Mwalderman@fcps.edu if you have any questions.
Student Services
A reminder that FCPS Online Campus Summer Courses are open for registration and available to eligible middle school students who meet prerequisites and technical requirements. Students may take one online course for first time or repeat credit. Middle school students may not take a mathematics course during the summer as their first-high school level mathematics course. Courses are rigorous; therefore, students should consult their counselor prior to registering. Program information is available at Summer Learning.
Library Happenings
Curbside Changes
The Rocky Run MS Library will continue to offer curbside pick-up of library books this spring, but a few things have changed. Students can still put up to 5 books on hold through the library catalogue, Destiny Discover. Check out the Putting Books on Hold Tutorial for help.
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For students returning to school, books put on hold will be delivered to English teachers’ classrooms for student pickup during English class.
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For students who are remaining virtual, curbside pick-up will be offered on Mondays from 3pm to 6pm and will now occur at DOOR 1.
- Wednesday evening curbside pickup will no longer be available. Review the Curbside Flyer for more details.
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Returning books: The book return mailbox has been moved to DOOR 1 (main entrance). In person students can also return their books to the book return outside the library’s entrance once they return.
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Questions about curbside or access to books? Email RockyRunMSLibrary@fcps.edu.
Virtual Book Fair March 15 - 21 Don’t forget that RRMS Library's Virtual Book Fair is available ALL YEAR! Visit our RockyRunMSOnlineBookstore to get started. Also, feel free to share the link with your loved ones! We are especially encouraging families to make purchases during our book fair week of March 15-21. Please consider purchasing books written by the authors who will be part of our April Virtual Author Visit--James Ponti, Christina Soonternvat, and Karina Yan Glaser. You can find all their books in a highlighted group on the RRMS Bookworm Central Virtual Book Fair website. Your child’s experience at the Virtual Author Visit is sure to be enhanced if they have read some of the books ahead of time.
Book Fair proceeds directly support the Rocky Run Library. Let’s dive into spring with some new great books!
Infographics
Our librarians, Ms. Grover and Ms. Bickford, have made our library accessible to both virtual and in-person students. To learn about how your student can take advantage of all the library has to offer, review the attached infographics (PDFs). These infographics are also available for students on their grade-level Google Classroom as well as their English teacher.
Virtual Student Infographic
In-Person Student Infographic
Questions? Reach out to Ms. Grover and/or Ms. Bickford at RockyRunMSLibrary@fcps.edu
After School Information
Click here for the after-school schedule for the week of March 15th. All clubs will remain virtual at this time.
Congratulations to our Science Bowl Team 1 which won the 2021 Virginia Regional Middle School Science Bowl Championship (Conducted by Department of Energy). They will represent Virginia in the National finals. Team members are Aaryan S., Arnav B., Avery L., Raghav K., Samarth B. The team has worked hard and we are very proud of their well-deserved achievement.
Shannon Campbell
After-School Specialist & Building Use Coordinator
Rocky Run MS
703-802-7830
Positivity Project - Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm means you approach life with excitement and energy. You energize people around you. It is the ability to bring life and excitement to different situations. It often leads to a higher level of involvement and engagement both for individuals and for groups. Those who demonstrate zest and enthusiasm bring an energy and level of intensity to individual and group work. These people are often identified as early leaders and innovators as a result of their outward excitement about a task or project. Look for these people to recruit new group members and generate ideas.
People with enthusiasm and zest are happy, but this strength goes beyond happiness or pleasure. It is an activated positive energy, and associated with self-realization and autonomy. Zest is a strength that has strong connotations with both physical and mental vitality and well-being. It can be fortified through diet, exercise, mindset, and social connection.
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