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Important Upcoming Events October 13 - No School for Students. Teacher Staff Development Day October 20 - No School. Religious or Cultural Observance October 22 - Family Workshop: Internet Safety 6:30PM RCMS Library October 31 - Quarter 1 ends - 2 hour Early Release

Principal's Message

Hello Carson Families,

We're a little more than halfway through the first quarter of the school year.  As you know, we started our security screening here at Carson last week. The students are getting used to the routine, which is allowing us to get them into the building faster. Please help by reminding your children to have their laptop out and ready to hand to a staff member while keeping all other items in their backpack for scanning; this small step will significantly speed up the morning line and get them ready for class. Thanks for you support of this new process for middle schools.

Go Panthers!

Mr. Washington

Monday, October 13, is a student holiday and staff development day for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. See the complete school year calendar here.

Blue Star Welcome Week 9/27-10/4

Blue Star Welcome Week is a nationwide initiative to ensure military families feel a sense of belonging to their school communities. Fairfax County Public Schools celebrates Blue Star Welcome Week.

Blue Star Welcome Week empowers military families to thrive as they serve. There are approximately 13,500 military-connected students enrolled in FCPS. Each year, one-third of our military families transition into or out of our district. Blue Star Welcome Week allows schools to welcome and connect with their military families. The goal is to create a sense of belonging and ensure our military families feel celebrated and welcomed into their school communities.

We’d like to know who our military-connected students are at RCMS so we can support them and offer opportunities throughout the school year to connect with other military-connected students. Please complete this google form if you are a RCMS military family and reach out to school counselor, Karla Chustz, with questions or suggestions via email at kmchustz@fcps.edu.  Rachel Carson Middle School appreciates the service and sacrifices of the military members and families in our community. 

Early Dismissal Procedure Please do NOT request early dismissals online or by phone.  To request an early dismissal please send a note, or complete and print an Early Dismissal Request Form for your child. Your child should bring the note or form to the main office upon arrival to school in order to receive an early dismissal pass for that day. If you forget to send a note, students should still come to the front office to get an early dismissal pass. This will minimize class interruptions when the teacher knows in advance a student will check out early. All early dismissals must be before 1:45pm. Click HERE for more Carson Middle Attendance details.

Resources Available during the Shutdown

Please know that we are here to support you and your family if you are impacted by this shutdown. Here is some important information that you may find useful at this time:

• Families can apply for free and reduced-price meal benefits anytime during the school year. If a family’s income changes at any point, they may become newly eligible according to federal income guidelines and can apply immediately. This includes income interruptions caused by furloughs, layoffs, or job losses. Once approved, benefits remain valid for the rest of the school year and for up to 30 school days into the following school year, even if the family’s income changes again. 
• Free, virtual mental health sessions are available through our partnership with Hazel Health. This is a great way for students to access care quickly and easily from the school clinic or home, providing support for stress, anxiety, worry, and other concerns that might be heightened during the shutdown. 
• The Fairfax County Government and various local organizations are stepping up to offer a range of assistance, including food, financial, and housing resources. I encourage any of our families who are experiencing financial distress, due to the shutdown or for any reason, to visit the Fairfax County Human Services Resource Guide (HSRG) website.
• Fairfax Connector’s Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) also provides 50% off fares for low-income residents ages 18 to 65. Learn more about the TRIP program and how to apply.
• Fairfax County residents can take advantage of many of the free offerings the county provides to residents and students. Our incredible public libraries have a wide-selection of books and other activities that families can check out. All FCPS students also have a Library Equity Access Pass through Fairfax County Public Libraries, which allows them to check-out up to 3 items for 6 weeks. And Fairfax County’s many parks and recreation areas are open and free to residents as well.

Federal Impact Aid Online Survey is Coming!

The Impact Aid Program is a federal 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.

FCPS is pleased to announce that the Federal Impact Aid Survey will once again be available electronically through your ParentVUE account. For families that do not have access to ParentVUE or prefer to complete a paper form, a printed form will be provided by the school.

• The electronic version of the Federal Impact Aid Survey will open to parents in ParentVUE on October 21st  through January 2026.

Attention 8th Grade Parents - Field trip Volunteers needed!

Carson 8^th graders will be attending the Finance Park field trip in November and we would love to have you come along with us!  We need 25 parent volunteers for each of our five teams. This is a 4.5 hour commitment (from 8:35am-1:10pm), which includes an hour of training at the Finance Park facility next to Frost MS before our students arrive. You will help guide students through different phases of the day, which simulate real-world budgeting decisions, spending research, and bill payment. You will also share your own life experiences and help them walk a day in your shoes. You bring the program to life!

Finance Park trips are on the following dates (snow days will be rescheduled at a later time) –

 - Voyagers: Monday, November 17

 - Discovery: Thursday, November 20

 - Wolves: Friday, November 21

 - Explorers: Monday, November 24

 - Dolphins: Tuesday, November 25

If you are able to volunteer with Carson’s Finance Park field trip, please view this link to create a JA account and then sign up as a caregiver for your child’s date to volunteer.

https://jagw.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/jafpfc 

Thank you for donating your time and experience to our students.  If you have any questions, please contact your child’s civics teacher. 

AAP Screening News

Fall Full-Time AAP Screening

Parents and teachers interested in referring students for the fall full-time AAP screening must submit a full-time AAP referral form to the school’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) by October 15, 2025. Fall 2025 screening is only available to students newly enrolled in FCPS after January 1, 2025, who were not screened in Spring 2025.

For information pertaining to the screening process, testing and identification timeline or identification and placement, please contact Carrie Guild at cjguild@fcps.edu.

Please join us for a family workshop on Internet Safety.  This presentation will include seven topics that impact safety online and how to have these important conversations at home with your children.