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Table of Contents
1. Important Dates
2. A Note from the Principal
3. Action Items for Families
4. Student Recognition
5. Student Services Updates
6. Instructional Updates
7. After-School Updates
8. Community Corner
1. Important Dates
September 26 - PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM, Library
September 29- Chipotle Fundraiser for Day of Service, 4-8pm
October 3 - No School (Holiday)
October 4 - No School (Teacher Workday)
2. A Note from the Principal
Dear Rocky Run Families-
We had another great week at Rocky Run Middle School. Our after school programs are in full swing and our cross country program is up and running (pun intended). We have over 120 students participating to represent the Rams. Their first meet is this Saturday, September 21, at 8:30 AM at Robinson. Please consider coming out to cheer on our "Running Rams".
As the weather continues to change and routines become more standardized, I want to take this opportunity to write about ways that the school and community can partner to support mental health and social/emotional learning. One important way to support your student’s social and emotional learning is to make sure they get to school. Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child later in life. It’s a good habit to build now to help them graduate from college on time and routinely report to work on time once they have a career. Every day of learning is a day toward success. Keep in mind that absences add up quickly. Students who are absent 10 percent of the school year (or just two days per month) are considered “chronically absent.” If your child needs to miss school because of an illness or appointment, you must report the absence to the school by calling 703-802-7782, or by emailing RockyRunMiddle.Attendance@fcps.edu. Similarly, please have a conversation with your students about the importance of arriving to each class on time! Tardies add up too, and cause students to miss a substantial amount of instructional time. As we started last year, a student's privilege to attend certain school-sponsored activities (Franklin vs Rocky Run basketball game, etc) will be tied to tardy monitoring.
Lastly, this week, students began to attend sessions about the impact of their words. We ask families to engage in conversations with their students as a follow up. Please consider using these sentence starters:
- Tell me more about being an “upstander”-- what does that term mean to you?
- Have you heard any instances of hate speech at school? If so, how has this made you feel? How have you responded?
- If you hear someone use hate speech in the future, how might you respond differently?
- What questions do you have after having all of these conversations? How are you feeling? How can I support you?
Thank you for your continued support and please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Peter Kownacki
Principal
Rocky Run Middle School
@pakownacki
3. Action Items for Families
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BUY YOUR YEARBOOK- Don’t Miss a Memory!
Prices go up December 1st – Buy yours now for the best price! Get yours at https://yearbookordercenter.com/ School Code: 5333
Available while supplies last.
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Ms. Valade is collecting recycled materials for art projects, including cardboard boxes, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, packing paper, and magazines. Please drop any donations off to the Main Office or ask your student to bring them to Room 125.
4. Student Celebrations
Blue Star Welcome Week
During Blue Star Welcome Week, Rocky Run Middle School welcomes and celebrates our military-connected families! Blue Star Welcome Week was created to recognize the 600,000 military families who move to new communities each year, while raising awareness and building support for military-connected students. We will be honoring our military-connected students during a Rock Time (3rd period) meet and greet event. Please visit this link to learn more about the supports available to FCPS military-connected families.
RAISE the Ram Card Winners
Congratulations to this week's Ram card winners:
Viraj Yadav (Respectful)
Jeremiah Guandalino-Martinez (Respectful, Accountable, and Safe)
Annalyn Plaugher (Accountable and Engaged)
Erin Kim (Accountable)
Aavyan Tendulkar (Engaged)
Alice Greene (Respectful and Accountable)
Great job Raising the Ram!
5. Student Services Updates
World Languages Credit by Exam
Students who are proficient in a language other than English can assess language proficiency and earn up to 3 high school world language credits by taking the World Language Credit by Exam. To learn more about the exam and how earned credits work, please visit the FCPS World Languages Credit by Exam website. If you and your student would like to register for the exam, please fill out this Google Form and your child’s counselor will submit the registration by Friday, October 4th at 9 a.m.
Assessments will take place at Rocky Run Middle School during a school day in November. We will share exact testing dates later.
Please make sure you and your child visit the Avant website to learn about what to expect from this test, including sample tests and keyboard, computer, and headphone requirements.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener
All students in grades 3-12 have the opportunity to participate in the screener twice a year, in the fall and spring. The SEL Screener elevates the voices of our students by making sure their perspectives are considered in decision-making. For more information about the SEL Screener, including the Screener questions, please visit the FCPS Website.
Rocky Run Middle School will give the Fall SEL Screener on October 10. Please complete this Google Form ONLY if you DO NOT want your child to participate in the Screener: Rocky Run SEL Screener OPT-OUT Form
Advanced Academic Program Referrals
Parents or guardians of seventh and eighth-grade students NEW to FCPS as of January 2024 who were not screened in Spring 2024 may initiate screening for full-time AAP services by submitting an Advanced Academic Programs Level IV Referral Form (multiple languages are available at this link) to Rocky Run’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), Anna Slevin (agslevin@fcps.edu), by Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Please view AAP Testing and Identification Timelines for more information.
Parents or guardians of seventh-grade students who are NOT NEW to FCPS may initiate screening for full-time AAP services by submitting an Advanced Academic Programs Level IV Referral Form (multiple languages are available at this link) to Rocky Run’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), Anna Slevin (agslevin@fcps.edu), by Sunday, December 15, 2024. Please view AAP Testing and Identification Timelines for more information.
6. Instructional Updates
Day of Service
Learn about Rocky Run’s Day of Service here. This year’s Day of Service will take place on October 31, 2024.
Families can support Rocky Run’s Day of Service in multiple ways:
(This link is only for donations, our 8th grade students are our volunteers and they will all participate throughout the morning. If you would like to help us by volunteering on our Day of Service please use this Google Form)
- Sign up to donate supplies needed for service projects during the Day of Service here
- Sign up to help us on the Day of Service here
- If you are connected to an organization or have an idea of how our students can give back to the community on October 31, please reach out to Anna Slevin at agslevin@fcps.edu
Support our fundraisers for this event! All of the funds raised go towards the packing event with Rise Against Hunger:
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Sunday September 29th 4-8pm at the Chipotle on Newbrook Dr. (by Wegmans) - tell the cashier you are there for Rocky Run and we get 25% back! (Online order code is 62V7AXB)
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Monday October 7th – Virtual Fundraiser with Panda Express – order online for delivery or pick-up using the code 925833 and 28% of sales are donated! Share with friends and family nationwide!
7. After-School Program Information
- Schedule for the week of 9/23
- Late buses will depart Monday - Thursday between 4:45 - 5:00 PM. Routes differ from regular AM/PM buses as there are fewer late buses and fewer stops. Routes are posted on the After-School Schoology Course. Please make sure your student knows their late bus number prior to staying after.
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Registration form is required for ALL RRMS students (regardless of intent to participate). Your student will not be able to stay after for any clubs, activities, or events if this form is not completed.
- Program updates, announcements, and schedules are posted on the After-School Schoology Course - all families have been added.
- Check out our Program Preview for information on program times, pick-up, etc.
After-School Program Questions? Contact Shannon Campbell, After-School Program Specialist, at SLCampbell@fcps.edu
8. Community Corner
Quick Links
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