Important Upcoming Events
10/14 - PTA Cookie Dough Fundraiser Virtual Kickoff
10/18 - Federal Impact Aid Surveys go home
10/18-10/22 - Digital Citizenship Week
10/21 -Fall Chorus 7pm
10/25-10/26 -Vision and Hearing Screening
10/26 - Band Concert RCMS 7pm
10/29 - End of First Quarter- 2-Hour Early Release (12:15)
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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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Parent Coffee Feedback Form
Rachel Carson MS will be hosting quarterly virtual 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. Our next virtual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th.
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Carson Health News
Greetings from your school health room!
Our goal is to ensure that your student enjoys a safe and healthy school year while balancing the COVID-19 pandemic mitigation strategies especially during the cold, flu and allergy season. To help us achieve our goal, please follow the guidelines below and students demonstrating any of the following COVID-like symptoms will be sent home from school: Fever (100.4 or greater) - Chills – Cough – Shortness of breath – Loss of taste/smell – Sore throat – Fatigue – Muscle aches – Runny Nose/Congestion – Stomachache – Diarrhea – Nausea/Vomiting – Headaches. You will be notified to pick up student within one hour.
- Layered Covid-19 prevention strategies are in place in all schools. For more information, visit https://www.fcps.edu/returntoschool
- For additional questions about Covid-19, Call 703-267-3511 (9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays) · Email ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov (monitored 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays).
- Have your student wear a properly fitted face mask when he/she comes to school unless your student is exempted from wearing face mask. See Types of Masks (fcps.edu) and How to Put On and Take Off a Face Covering-Student Procedures
- Encourage your student to wash hands often and always cover coughs and sneezes.
Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in helping to make this a safe and healthy school year for all FCPS students. If you have any questions regarding the health room services, please feel free to call either your School Health Aide, Jackie Plunkett, at 703-925-3610 or your school Public Health Nurse, Minjung Ellenburg, RN, at 703-925-3611.
Vision and Hearing Screening-Volunteers are still needed
Vision and hearing screening will be held on Monday, October 25th and Tuesday, October 26th for all 7th and 8th graders who were unable to be screened last school year. If your child wears glasses, please be sure he/she has them at school on screening day. The purpose of screening is to identify students who need further evaluation because they have difficulty seeing the screening chart or hearing the screening tones.
Parents will be notified by letter if screening results indicate that further testing is needed. Vision and hearing difficulties can interfere with learning. Prompt follow-up of a referral is recommended.
If you would like to assist as a volunteer with the screening process, please click here for the sign up Genius page.
 At Rachel Carson Middle School
Afterschool programs and Late buses are provided on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If a student stays after on Tuesdays or Fridays, they must be picked up by their parent/guardian. The after school program runs from 2:23-4:28 PM and is broken into two blocks, A Block (2:23-3:23) and B Block (3:28-4:28). Students may leave after A block if they are being picked up at kiss n ride. Late buses only arrive after B Block. Parents do not sign students up for afterschool programs, it is the student's responsibility to sign up for individual clubs. Please communicate with your child in advance about staying afterschool. Students will sign up the day of, during their lunch period for clubs that have weekly sign ups. You may check the RCMS website for individual club sign up information.
All Afterschool information may be found on the RCMS website with the following link: https://carsonms.fcps.edu/activities
Afterschool Transportation
Please check your SIS ParentVue account for their designated late bus route number which is usually different from their regular route in the morning. If you are able to pick up your student at Kiss & Ride, it is highly encouraged that you do so.
You may also track your child's late bus in Here Comes the Bus (HCtB) app or FCPS School Bus Delays website for potential delays. Route information for your child is always available and current in your SIS ParentVue account.
If you have any questions or concerns please email Mr. Pawlowski, ajpawlowski@fcps.edu
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.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship Week is October 18-22, 2021. This year’s theme brings together digital citizenship and social emotional learning as students explore SEL in Digital Life. Students are online more than ever before, so teaching them how to use technology thoughtfully and responsibly is an essential part of their social and emotional development and academic success.
At Carson we will share optional activities each day through our All Student Schoology Course (Carson Student Central). Students who complete the activities will be entered into a raffle for prizes at the end of the week!”
https://carsonms.fcps.edu/node/7185
SRR -Student Rights & Responsibilities Information
Parent/Guardians can acknowledge receipt of the SR&R in ParentVue in your child’s SIS account or sign the Parent Signature Sheet to acknowledge that you have received this document. Please e-sign through ParentVue or return the signed signature sheet to your child's school by October 29, 2021.
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Federal Impact Aid Survey is coming
The Impact Aid Program is a federal grant program designed to directly compensate local school districts that have been financially impacted by federal activities. The program's mission is to reimburse local school districts for local revenues lost due to the presence of federally owned and therefore tax-exempt property.
Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid forms will be distributed and go home on Monday, October 18th, during Panther time. Please be sure to complete and sign the survey and have your child return it to school to their Panther time teacher before Friday, November 5th.
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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:
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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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FCPS Job Opportunities
Substitute Teachers
FCPS values our substitutes. They are essential members of every school’s team.
If you want to earn money while making a difference in your community, consider subbing! Click on the link to learn more about the application process.
click here
Student Monitor
Provides supervision of students throughout the school day to include but not limited to the classroom, hallways, lunch, recess, specials and at arrival/dismissal; helps maintain order and discipline and assists in managing the behavior of students; operates technology; performs administrative and non-instructional duties; ensures all layered prevention/safety protocols and procedures are implemented and followed; works with individual and small groups of students.
School Public Health/Covid Case Manager
Monitors and manages COVID case data in schools in concert with the local health department. Works closely with students, staff, administration, FCPS central office and the County Health Department. Accesses and uses student information system data to assist health department staff with contact tracing-identifying close contacts and reporting to the health department. Uses applicable technology to collect, maintain, analyze and report data related to management of potential exposures. May assist with collection and/or coordination of Covid testing. Click the link below to see all job opportunities with FCPS.
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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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