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1. Important Dates
October 9 - No After-School Activities - all students depart at 2:15 PM
October 12 - Student Holiday
October 15 - PTA Meeting, 7 PM, Library
October 26 and 27 - Fall Pictures (during students' PE classes)
October 30 - End of 1st Quarter, 2 Hour Early Release, No After-School Program, Career Day, PTA Tailgate 5 PM
November 2 - Student Holiday (School Planning Day)
November 3 - Student Holiday (Teacher Workday)
November 5 - Fall Family Night, 6 PM
2. A Note from the Principal
Dear Rocky Run Families,
We had a great week at Rocky Run Middle School! We welcomed visitors from the Region 5 office to our classrooms on Thursday, October 8. I enjoyed popping into classrooms with them to showcase the amazing learning at RRMS. This week, we also launched tardy sweeps in an effort to make sure that students were maximizing each instructional period. Even a few minutes of missed instruction can add up to hours of missed instruction over the course of the year. Please continue to talk to your students about the importance of arriving to class on time and ready to learn.
Looking ahead, Indigenous Peoples' Day will be celebrated on Monday, October 12. This holiday honors the histories, cultures, and contributions of indigenous peoples, past and present. Students will enjoy a three-day weekend, while staff members participate in a day of professional development. While students are enjoying the three-day weekend, I encourage them to spend some time thinking and examining one of the more than 2000 tribal groups that are indigenous to North America. Each one has a unique culture and way of life that span history up to and including present day.
Also next week, we will hold our monthly PTA meeting on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 PM. We offer in-person and Zoom options for attendance. This month, there will be a guest speaker to discuss organization and executive functioning.
October is also the PTA's major fundraising month. The "No Fuss Fundraiser" is an easy way to support PTA programs and activities that directly benefit our students—no selling required! Parents and students can create a fundraising page here. We have set a $4000 goal for this event. Throughout October, every student who receives at least one new donation during a given week will be entered to win fantastic prizes (including Level 99, Pinstack, ZavaZone and Field of Fear) donated by local businesses. Each week brings a new chance to win, so keep reaching out to family and friends and collecting donations all month long!
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
3. Action Items for Families
Fall Spirit Week October 19-23
We will have a fall spirit week for students to show their Rocky Run pride during the week of October 19-23.
Monday, October 19- Decades Day- dress like the fashion of your favorite decade (Teachers will dress like the decade when they were in middle school)
Tuesday, October 20- Pajama Day- Wear your favorite school-appropriate pajamas. Teams with the most participation will win team points!
Wednesday, October 21- Dress for the Wrong Occasion Day- Dress like you were planning for an event besides school! Graduation, prom, a day at the beach- just make sure it's school-appropriate!
Thursday, October 22- Team Spirit Day! Wear your team colors or team Tshirt. Teams with the most participation will win team points!
Friday, October 23- Rocky Run Spirit Day! Wear blue and gold or Rocky Run spirit wear.
Rocky Run Fall Family Night
All Rocky Run families (adults and students) are invited to join us for our Fall Family Night on Thursday, November 5! From 6:00-8:00pm, we will have breakout sessions for parents/guardians on the following topics:
- Navigating the emotional rollercoaster of middle school, including stress, anxiety, and avoidance
- Deciphering the FCPS math sequence
- Understanding the rolling gradebook & middle school grading policies
- An introduction to academic advising for both 7th and 8th graders
We will also have:
- Bingo for students, run by volunteers from our National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)
- A gallery walk of student artwork and a variety of fun art activities to try
- A preview performance from Peter Pan Jr., our upcoming musical
- Community resource tables to browse
Please RSVP to help us better prepare for the event. RSVPs are NOT required to attend; they are just helpful for our planning. We hope to see you there!
Career Day Volunteers Needed!
Rocky Run's Career Day will take place on Friday October 30, 2026. We need your help to make it a success! Please volunteer to speak with our students on Career Day!
Use this form to sign-up to share your career or job with Rocky Run students: https://forms.gle/22umhSzdmnHtcdxe9
The event will run from about 8:00am-12:00pm, but volunteers do not need to commit for the entire time frame. Presentations will be to small groups and in a career fair setting. At this time please let us know if you are willing and available to present and save the date on your calendar!
Please reach out to Halissa Jacobson at hdjacobson@fcps.edu or Anna Slevin agslevin@fcps.edu if you have questions or would like more information. Thank you!
4. Student Celebrations
RAISE the Ram Card Winners
At Rocky Run, students can earn RAISE the Ram cards for exhibiting our RAISE attributes: Rams are Respectful, Accountable, Inclusive, Safe, and Engaged. At the end of each week, we randomly select one winner from each team.
Congratulations to this week's RAISE the Ram card winners:
Meteors: Ahmad Wali (Accountable and Engaged)
Platinum: Sophia Witmer (Inclusive and Engaged)
Emerald: Aditya Swain (Accountable and Engaged)
Kryptonite: Shilotte Park (Respectful, Accountable, Inclusive, Safe, and Engaged)
Tiger's Eye:James Haney (Respectful Engaged)
Sapphire: Dionyza Ghosh (Engaged)
Great job Raising The Ram this week!
5. Student Services Updates
8th Grade Youth Survey
The Fairfax County Youth Survey, a collaboration between the Fairfax County School Board and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is a comprehensive, anonymous, and voluntary survey given each year to students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12. The survey examines behaviors, experiences, and other factors that influence the health and well-being. The results, published each year at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/youthsurvey, identify trends and areas of need, providing a snapshot of the county's youth and serving as a barometer of the community's effectiveness in fostering healthy choices in young people.
Rocky Run Middle School will be administering the Fairfax County Youth Survey on Tuesday, November 18th during Rock Time (8th period).
While it is our hope that as many students as possible will participate, if you do not wish for your child to take part in the Youth Survey, please complete the printable form linked on the Fairfax County Youth Survey and return it to your child's school counselor no later than November 7, 2025. If you have already opted your child out of this survey using the Parental Digital Consent Portal you do not need to provide additional information to the school counselor.
Translated Letters and Opt-out Forms:
English Arabic Chinese Korean Spanish Urdu Vietnamese
7th Grade Wellness Screening
All middle and high schools in FCPS teach students about mental health and how to seek help if they are worried about themselves or a friend. All schools use an evidence-based program called Signs of Suicide (SOS).
During the lesson, students learn: That depression is treatable, so they are encouraged to seek help. How to identify depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend. To ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult) if concerned about themselves or a friend. Who they can turn to at school for help if they need it.
At Rocky Run Middle School, the SOS lesson and accompanying screening will occur on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 during Rock Time. We recognize that you may have opted your child out of this screener through the Parent Digital Consent tool. If you did not complete opt out using the parent portal and would still like to do so you can OPT OUT (meaning your child will not participate in the screener) by completing the Google Form.
Social-Emotional Learning Screener
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) believes in supporting social and emotional learning (SEL) for all students. In FCPS, students use a tool called the SEL Screener to think about their own SEL skills and experiences at school. Rocky Run Middle School students in grades 7 and 8 will be participating in the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener in the Fall and Spring. Our Fall 26 administration date is October 14, 2026, during Rock Time.
After each screening, results are available in the Documents tab of SIS ParentVUE and mailed to families without a ParentVUE account. For more information about the SEL Screener, please visit the FCPS Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener webpage. If you would like your student to opt out of taking the SEL Screener, please log into the FCPS Digital Consent System.
World Language 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 high school credits by taking the World Language Credit by Exam assessment. 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. Expect to receive a registration confirmation email within 1-2 school days of submitting the form. Parents / students must complete the google form by 8 AM Friday October 16, no late registrations will be accepted.
Please make sure you and your child visit the Avant website to make sure you and your student know what to expect from this test, including sample tests and keyboard, computer, and headphone requirements. Please contact your child’s school counselor if you have any questions:
6. Instructional Updates
Fall Full-Time AAP Referral Window for Students New to FCPS Closes on October 15
The fall referral window is only for students in Grades 3-8 who are new to FCPS since January 1, 2026. Parents and guardians who would like their student to be considered for Full-Time Advanced Academic Program (AAP) services must submit the Full-Time AAP Referral Form to Anna Slevin, Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, at agslevin@fcps.edu by October 15, 2026. Late referrals will not be accepted.
7. After School Program Information
After-School Schedule: Week of 10/12
Club List & Details - this is updated frequently so check back often as new clubs will be added!
Next Steps:
- If you haven't yet completed the After-School Registration Form, you must do so before your student stays after. Take 30 seconds and complete it today so your student doesn't miss any opportunities! Less than 200 to go!
- Once your student sees a club that they are interested in, they should plan on attending. Most clubs are open enrollment, but some have a selection process and once those rosters are selected, the club is closed. Students will get details at the interest meetings.
- Program details can be found here. Review this weekend so you and your student are familiar with how the program runs, how pick-ups work, etc.
- Late bus routes are posted on the After-School Schoology Course (all students and parents are enrolled).
- If you are interested in a club and it's not on the schedule for next week, check the preliminary club list as it may be starting at a later date. Not all clubs start in September so be sure that your student has a plan of what they are attending if they plan on staying. Rams Room is always available in the cafeteria to get some homework done, get organized, play board games with friends quietly.
- The student club proposal form will be shared on Schoology on 9/18. Students must be logged into their fcpsschools account to access that form.
MS Sports
In addition to the After-School Program, all middle schools in Fairfax County have interscholastic sports activities. Currently we have Cross Country in the Fall, Volleyball in the Winter, our annual Basketball game against Franklin MS in the Winter, and Track & Field in the Spring. These require an additional registration and a sports physical.
Next Steps:
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