Important Upcoming Events
9/20 - Afterschool Activities begin
9/23 - Virtual Parent Coffee-9am-10am
9/28 & 9/29 - Lifetouch Picture Days-PE Classes
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Greetings,
To help us have a successful school year, we will continue to have students focus on three key concepts. Students are ready to learn – on time to all classes and prepared with the necessary materials. Students are responsible – making positive choices that contribute to our school environment. Students are respectful – using positive words and actions with peers and staff, along with showing care for our school building. Families – we thank you for any conversations that you have at home to help reinforce these three concepts.
RCMS Admin Team
https://carsonms.fcps.edu/node/6332
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Back To School Night Information
Thank you to the families who were able to attend our Virtual Back To School Night presentation. The presentation recording and links to the teacher classroom presentations are located on our website at: https://carsonms.fcps.edu/virtual-back-school-night
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Virtual Parent Coffee
On Thursday, September 23, parents are invited to our first Virtual Parent Coffee of the school year. Members of our Student Services department and Administrative team will share information about the people and resources available to support students throughout the year. Items will include an introduction of our school counselors, social and emotional health resources, information about schoology, and an overview from the Administrative team.
The parent coffee is scheduled for 9-10AM and will occur through Zoom. Please use the following form to register your email to receive the Zoom link.
Please use the link below to register. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeCzIUwEG944buIr2GU96bTscLsxlUV2p4uvmWVr3WXkD-hw/viewform?usp=sf_link
A Zoon link to attend the Parent Coffee will be sent to registered families on the morning of the event.
Parent Coffee Feedback Form
Rachel Carson MS will be hosting quarterly parent coffees for our families this school year. Please help us select topics of interest by taking a few minutes to complete this short survey. We request all parents to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to provide us feedback to enhance home-school communication at the secondary level. We would like to hear from you even if you are unable to attend the Parent Coffee's. This will provide a wide range of topics for discussion.
 At Rachel Carson Middle School
The RCMS After School Programs will begin on Monday, September 20th, with most after school programs being offered on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s and program hours running from 2:30-4:30. Late buses will be available on these days and will typically depart Carson around 4:50-5:00.
If you have any questions about After School Programs, email Adam Pawlowski at ajpawlowski@fcps.edu
More detailed Information will be provided later in the week.
TJHSST Admissions Window
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) Application Process for Eligible 8th Grade Students:The application will open on Monday, October 25th at 4:00pm and close on Friday, November 19th at 4:00pm. Detailed information is posted on the TJ Admissions Office website: https://www.fcps.edu/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-admissions/tjhsst-freshman. Please contact the TJ Admissions Office by email (tjadmissions@fcps.edu)
World Language Credit Exam
Is your student fluent in a language other than English? Can they write proficiently in that language? If it is one of the 30 languages listed below, consider registering your student for the World Languages Credit Exam! This exam could help your student potentially earn World Language credits for their high school diploma.
The 2021 World Languages Credit Exam will be administered on November 16, 17 and 18, at Robinson SS, Centreville HS, and Edison HS. Thirty languages will be included: American Sign Language, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Registration opened on Monday, September 13, 2021, at 8 a.m. and closes on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 4 p.m. Late registrations will not be accepted.
Please contact your student’s school counselor to register for the exam.
Credit exam information can be accessed at: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/world-languages/credit-exam-world-languages
New Process to Speed Up the Return of Fully Vaccinated Students to the Classroom
FCPS heard from many of you about your concerns regarding the amount of time fully vaccinated students are being paused from in-person instruction when identified as a potential close contact to a COVID-19 positive case.
FCPS collaborated with the Fairfax County Health Department to adjust this process and speed up the return to the classroom for fully vaccinated, asymptomatic students. We all share the goal of ensuring our students are in the classroom as much as possible, while also keeping our schools safe and healthy for everyone—staff, students, and visitors.
The new process benefits all students, including those of elementary school age who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. Because contact tracers will no longer have to contact families of students who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, they will now be able to focus more resources on elementary school investigations. This will allow elementary school students, among others, to return to the classroom quicker.
More information is available online.
Clinic Volunteers Welcome
Rachel Carson Middle School is excited to welcome volunteers back into our school clinic this year! Volunteers must submit a completed Volunteer Application Form to the school and be fingerprinted at the Gatehouse Administration Center. Read more about the application and background check process.
All volunteers must also adhere to FCPS’ layered prevention strategies, including universal indoor masking.
If you are interested in volunteering in our clinic, please contact us at ajtawil@fcps.edu We look forward to welcoming you to our school.
Our goal is to ensure that your student enjoys a healthful, safe school year. If you have any questions, feel free to call either your health room aide, Jackie Plunkett, at 703-925-3610 or your school public health nurse, Minjung Ellenburg, RN, at 703-925-3611.
Click here
For Information regarding your student's use of digital tools in the learning environment.
Please make sure your child has a set of earbuds or headphones with them everyday.
ParentVue and StudentVue
The Student Information System (SIS) Parent Account Access allows parents and students access to teacher grade books, attendance information, course history and other useful information.
ParentVue:
Student Services Updates
Parents will be able to view student grades in SIS ParentVUE beginning September 7th. While we have allowed some schedule changes as students may have realized an elective wasn’t quite what they thought or a core class level was too easy or challenging, at this time we will not be making any additional schedule changes. The classes have begun to build culture and community with teachers and students, and teachers have begun entering grades. Students (and parents) can connect with their teachers and counselor if they need support in a class
Quarterly Student Services Newsletter
Welcome Back Panther Families! We are so excited to be back in person with our students and staff. Please take a look at our first newsletter of the 2021-2022 school year. In this quarter’s issue, we provide information on Social Emotional Learning, schedule changes, reviewing our month’s programs and upcoming events, and parent resources.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns throughout the school year, please do not hesitate to reach out to student services staff. Email is the best way to contact us during school hours (7am-2:30pm). Please allow 24 hours for a response to your email or phone message.
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Order Your Yearbook!
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2021-2022 Yearbooks are available for purchase at www.MySchoolBucks.com. or access through this link. https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/prdembd?ref=ZZI5ZQWBKS04NJ8_ZZJ6XQQIV50UTTM
We have a limited number of surplus, once we reach our sales limit yearbooks will be sold out. Sales are on a first come first serve basis. Make payments online to avoid the handling of cash and check. Reserve your copy today by purchasing through MySchoolBucks! The base price of the yearbook price is $30.00.
To help ensure the health and safety of all our students and staff, we ask that parents please consider paying for their student’s school fee online through MySchoolBucks. This will help minimize the amount of cash and checks that need to be handled throughout the day, which allows us to focus on keeping your student safe. Accounts may be set up with a credit card or linked directly to your checking account.
With MySchoolBucks you can:
- Pay online or on-the-go
- Browse items & fees in our School Store
- Know when fees are due
Don’t have an account yet? Visit MySchoolBucks.com to sign up today! www.MySchoolBucks.com
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School Picture Day is Coming On Tuesday, September 28 and Wednesday, September 29 during PE classes. |
Online ordering is easy using your student's school ID and the Picture Day code: EVTJ9R2FR
Order here
Drive a School Bus!
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) invites qualified individuals to join our transportation team.
This is a great opportunity for stay-at-home parents to earn income with benefits (and bring your preschooler to work with you!). Retirees, college students and career-switchers are also encouraged to apply.
Here Comes the Bus Mobile App
FCPS, along with surrounding school divisions, are experiencing severe bus driver shortages due to a national and regional driver shortage. Please be assured, transportation is working hard to recruit and retain qualified bus drivers and plan transportation that will be as efficient as possible with their current roster of drivers.
What will this mean for you and your family? FCPS will need to increase “double back” bus runs, meaning a bus is required to run two scheduled routes back to back that would normally have been covered by two separate buses. These “double backs” may impact delivery time to schools or bus stops and may have a domino effect throughout the day, affecting after-school drop-off times. We ask families and students to have patience and flexibility while they work through the issue. You may check the Here Comes the Bus (HCtB) app or FCPS School Bus Delays website for potential delays. Route information and transportation intent for your child is always available and current in your SIS ParentVue account.
Here Comes the Bus® utilizes FCPS Transportation GPS data and is easy to use with a customizable map that works. You will need the FCPS school district code 28982 and a SIS Parent Account (contact your child's school if you do not have an SIS Parent Account). Please be sure to follow the detailed instructions here to set up your account.
If you have any transportation concerns, please feel free to contact Ms. Terry at sdterry3@fcps.edu. or Mrs. Berkeley at mtberkeley@fcps.edu
All students riding the bus must wear a mask!
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On Reporting Absences
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If a student will be absent or arriving late to school, parents or guardians should always report the details of the absence to the RCMS Attendance Office. Teachers do not have access to mark a student excused for an absence, which is why it is imperative that parents contact the attendance office (instead of, or in addition to, the teacher) when their child is absent so we can mark them correctly.
To report an absence, parents have these options:
- Use the link to our online attendance form (preferred) from the main page of the RCMS website:
- Send an email with full details to: CarsonMiddle.Attendance@fcps.edu, or
- Call the attendance line at 703-925-3636 being sure to include the spelling of your student’s last name and reason for the absence.
If your student will be picked up early for an appointment:
Please send them to the front office in the morning with a note stating the time of the dismissal. Students will be given a pass to leave class and meet parents in the office. Parents should come to entrance #1, to the main office, with a photo ID to pick up their student for early dismissals.
For more information on the attendance policies, please visit the RCMS Attendance page.
FCPS Cares Program
The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees.
Watch this video to learn more
Daily Bell Schedule
https://carsonms.fcps.edu/about/bell-schedule
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.
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