For the Week of May 12, 2025

Good afternoon-

As we approach the end of the school year, I want to publicly thank 3 members of our staff for their service to our community and congratulate them on their retirement. Please join me in acknowledging:

Xiaoyu Chen, Paraeducator

Wendy Kekeris, Paraeducator

Cindy Larson, Special Education Teacher

There is a lot going on at RPMS as we close out this amazing school year. Please review this newsletter for information about a variety of grade-level events for our families and students.

As a reminder, school is closed Friday, June 6. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Stephen Reck, Principal

In this message, I will address the following topics:

1. No Place for Hate Honors
2. 6th and 7th Grade Field Day
3. Rising 6th Grade Orientation
4. Chromebook Return and Reminders
5. Summer Career Advising Program
6. Grade 8 Updates
7. SSL Updates
8. Attendance Reminders
9. Grade Level Assignments Summary
10. Upcoming Important Dates & Events
11. Updates from our PTA

The PTA needs YOU! We currently do not have a President or Treasurer for our PTA next year. Without these positions, there will be no PTA to support our school. If you have any interest, please reach out to our current President [email protected] or me [email protected] for more information.

This year, our school earned recognition as a No Place for Hate school for its work in fostering a climate of tolerance and belonging for all students. This program is student-led. Our students, especially our Student Diversity Leadership Team, identified topics of importance for our specific school and developed advisory lessons throughout the year. Some topics this year included how to identify and challenge hate speech, the harmful impacts of gossip and rumors, and bias.

We will continue this program and build it bigger and better. Thank you to all of the students that made this program and this designation possible!

Field Day for our sixth and seventh graders is on Friday, June 13. To celebrate all of our students' hard work this year, we will be having a special day filled with field day events, pizza, Kona Ice and a fun town hall celebration!

Students have the opportunity to purchase pizza, pack their lunch, or purchase school lunch from the cafeteria. If you would like to purchase pizza for your child, please visit School Cash Online. We cannot offer refunds if students are absent for Field Day.

Each rising 6th grade student is invited to attend one In-Person Summer Orientation session. Families are asked to provide transportation for this program. Please review the attached document for details. If you have questions about orientation, please contact Mrs. Fordham, Counseling Secretary at Rosa Parks Middle School: [email protected]

Additionally, if you know of any families that will be new to our school community next year, please encourage them to email [email protected] to register their child(ren) ASAP.

This is a reminder that per MCPS Policy, students are financially responsible for any loss or "avoidable damage" caused to school-owned Chromebooks. This spreadsheet outlines the current costs associated with Chromebook repairs. Costs range from $29 to replace a charger to $312 for Chromebook replacement.

On June 9, 2025, current 8th grade students will turn in their charger and Chromebook. Current 6th and 7th grade students keep their device through the summer.

Hello Dolphins!

Ready for another adventure this summer? MoCo CAP is thrilled to invite you to an engaging program at Rosa Parks Middle School with tentative dates of July 29th, 30th, and 31st from 8:45 to 12:15 each day. Building on the RIASEC exploration we started this school year; this summer program offers a fantastic opportunity to dive deeper into the world of careers. Through fun and interactive activities, you'll discover more about your unique strengths and interests and how they connect to different career paths.

If you are interested in participating in this experience, please complete this survey.

Please note: Participants will need to arrange their own transportation, and lunch will not be provided.

Please find the attached document pertaining to end of the year items for 8th grade. The document will be updated as things become finalized so please keep it handy.

Panoramic Pictures of the 8th grade class can be purchased through this link https://vando.imagequix.com/g1001223175#login

The 8th grade team is also in the process of building the annual slideshow that is shown during the promotion ceremony. Please click here to submit 8th grade photos for the slideshow.

Upcoming Districtwide SSL Opportunity: ELO Summer Program Student Volunteers (July 7 to August 1) - The Division of Title 1 is excited to announce the return of student volunteers for the 2025 ELO Summer Programs.

Student volunteers are welcome to utilize MCPS bus transportation provided to program participants within each school’s normal catchment area, and volunteers will be provided breakfast and lunch daily, free of charge. The window to register as a volunteer will be open until June 6. Registration will take place on a first come, first served basis. Student volunteers may only register for one location and must be available for at least 15 of the 20 days of the program. Information regarding the volunteer registration process for each specific school site is available at this link: https://bit.ly/ELO-2025

Additional upcoming SSL opportunities: https://bit.ly/May-SSL

Please submit SSL verification forms digitally whenever possible through the RPMS Google Site: https://bit.ly/SSL-RPMS.

Please contact Mrs. Sarah Lewis, SSL Coordinator, with any questions about the SSL program: [email protected]

Illness and family responsibilities happen and the school understands that many absences are unavoidable. If your child is absent from school, you can submit an excuse note here. If you are looking for help in improving your child's school attendance, our counseling team is available to help.

May 31 - 8th Grade Dance 7-9:30 at Sherwood HS

June 6 - School Closed for Professional Day

June 9 - Last day of instruction for 8th grade - all assignments due

June 10 - 8th Grade Field Trip to Hershey Park

June 11 - 8th Grade Promotion 9:00a at Good Counsel HS

June 12 - All assignments due for 6th and 7th grade

June 13 - 6th & 7th Grade Field Day

June 13 to 17 - Early Release Days

June 17 - Last Day of School for Students and Staff

Here is more information about the RPMS PTA:

🔗 Check it out here: https://linktr.ee/rpmsptsa

1. Olney Volleyball will be running summer camps at Farquhar and would appreciate you sharing our flyer in the weekly newsletter. This is the version that will be shared with Farquhar and Belmont students. Is it possible to include this in your next newsletter?

2. As the Varsity Volleyball Coach at Sherwood, I'd like to invite prospective student athletes to attend free summer camps. If interested, they need to register for Sherwood Summer Conditioning and can sign up for my email list: https://bit.ly/Sherwoodgirlsvolleyball2025