Principal’s Corner Dolphins – we’ve had another great opening this year! Thank you for your collaboration in making it a smooth transition for everyone! At this time students have received interim grades, they’ve completed the winter administration of MAP testing. and many have joined extra-curricular activities (sports, clubs, and talent show). Many of you have accessed MyMCPS Par-ent Portal. I’d like to remind you to complete the emergency information for your child.

Many events are planned for the month of Octo-ber. During the week of October 16th we are cele-brating Say Something Week which raises aware-ness and educates students on creating a school climate of “looking out” for one another and being an upstander at RPMS. During the week of October 23rd we are celebrating Red Ribbon Week which encourages and nurtures the full potential of healthy, drug free youth. Spirit week will coincide with Red Ribbon Week.

PTA had a kickoff dinner for the Watch D.O.G program (dads of great students). PTA is also scheduling a movie night on October 20th to watch Wonder Woman! Bring your lawn chairs and hot cocoa and get ready for a fantastic even-ing.

PTA News…

Membership WE NEED YOU! And there is still time to join. Membership this year is $40 and includes two adult members. You can easily join online at http://rpmspta.org/join-the-pta/. Fundraisers We had a great first fundraiser at California Tortilla; they are so awesome and reached out to us and we had a fundraiser night September 18th . Thank you California Tortilla of Olney. We are also selling fresh pine wreaths for the holiday season. Sign up online at http://rpmspta.org/wreath. Family Night We are hosting our first Family Night on Friday, October 20th. There will be a movie on the lawn behind the cafeteria. We invited Farquhar MS to join us. We will be hosting a friendly basketball game in the Spring when Far-quhar and Rosa Parks Middle School join together to take on Redland and Shady Grove MS staff at Sherwood High School. It will be in March and there should be more to come. Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students) This new group, that welcomes all male guardians, has had a kick off and there are many dads volunteering time in our building. Thank you to all the volunteers and Brian Lopes for organizing.

October Dolphin News…

Sign Up for the 2017 School-Based Flu Vaccine Clinics! Flu season is upon us. There are simple steps you and your child can take to stay healthy and help prevent the flu. That includes getting a yearly flu vaccine. The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will conduct free flu vaccine clinics in November at three area MCPS High Schools for children 3- 18 yrs. old who have made an appointment through the county's online appointment system. On Thursday, November 9, 2017, flu clin-ics will be held at John F. Kennedy HS, Northwest HS, and Rockville HS from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. All MCPS classes will be dismissed early on that day because of parent conferences. These clinics will only be offering injectable flu vaccines. No Flu-Mist vaccine is available this year. Spread FUN, Not FLU........get vaccinated. For more infor-mation about the flu, visit www.cdc.gov/flu.

Student Service Learning Updates

may turn forms to the folder of w classroom,

may also up or forms

Please contact Mrs. Lewis directly with any questions regarding SSL:

Sarah_F_Lewis@mcpsmd.org

System wide Student Documentation Timelines

January 5, 2017: Documentation of service performed during the first semester is due to the school-based SSL coordinator.

D of all the second due to

System Wide SSL Award Timelines 6,

D that school for the Award

due to the award to who meet the hour

only awarded

Mark your calendars…

October 6th—Early Release Day for students

October 11th—PSATs at Sherwood HS

October 16th— 20th—Say Something/Do Something Week

October 20th—Wear Pink Day!

October 23rd— 27th—Red Ribbon Week

October 31st—Halloween Costumes can be worn (no masks or face paint)

We’re here to help…

Counseling Office (301) 924-3190

Grade 6 - Mrs. Sara Watts, Resource Counselor and

Mrs. Michelle Ewers

Grade 7 - Ms. Barbara Becker

Grade 8 - Mrs. Sara Chapper

Counseling Secretary - Mrs. Cathy Fordham

Request for homework for long-term absence (3 day minimum)

Withdrawal from school

New registration

Sixth Grade News

Sixth grade students have now successfully made the

transition from elementary to middle school!

TAP teachers have been providing students with helpful

tips and strategies for staying organized and keeping up

with assignments. As we reach the halfway point in the

first marking period, students and parents should contin-

ue to check myMcps Classroom to view current grades

and assignments.

We look forward to working with you and your student

this school year!

Seventh Grade News

Hello to all our 7th grade parents! We are halfway through Marking Period one, and time is flying! Stu-

dents returned to school full of energy and excitement. They are working hard, reading, writing, learning

new math concepts, studying cells and learning about the Middle Ages. Soon we will have our first Town

Hall meeting and head of to our Medieval Times Field trip on Friday, November 3rd.

Something new this year is our Zs Aren’t Permitted (ZAP) morning help. Students who are missing work

due to absences and are in need of help with completing these assignments will be given an opportunity to do so during

TAP Mondays through Thursdays with the 7th grade team leaders, Mrs. Link and Mr. White. Hopefully this will be an effi-

cient and effective way to keep students moving forward in their academics when an assignment is missing (indicated by a

“Z”). Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teachers with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing

everyone at our November parent conferences!

What’s happening in Social Studies?

The Social Studies Department at RPMS is excited for an-other year of helping students investigate the past! Your child will experience a rigorous curriculum that em-phasizes reading and analyzing a variety of historical sources, critical thinking and problem-solving, and develop-ing logical, evidence-based written arguments. As a Social Studies department, we appreciate your support at home. Here are some ideas for supporting your child’s progress in Social Studies this year:

Talk about current events that are in the news. Discuss political, economic, and social developments in the nation and world, and encourage your child to make connections to what they have learned in class.

Visit the many museums and historical sites in our area to help increase your child’s exposure to new knowledge.

Read newspapers, magazines, nonfiction books, and a variety of other texts with your child. Discuss what you both learn and how it applies to what he or she has learned in school.

Encourage your child to make use of evidence when explaining their opinions or arguments, whether ver-bally or in writing.

We thank you for your support and look forward to working with your child throughout the year!

Eighth Grade News

Packets for the 8th grade fieldtrip on November 21, 2017 to Valley Forge and Philadelphia went home with students and were due by October 16th. The cost of the trip is $80 which includes charter bus transportation, an eighth grade t-shirt, entrance to facilities, tours and presentations by professional guides and an evening meal voucher. Please use the link on the RPMS homepage to pay with a credit or debit card. If you prefer to pay by check or cash, please send the payment, along with the signed permission slip, with your student for submission to Mrs. Gina Woodward, Ms. Deb Overly or Mr. Hamrick.

Physical Education & Health

We are off to a great start in Physical Education. Students in PE will complete Invasion game units during the first quarter. Please remind students to bring home their PE uniform/clothes at the end of the week to get washed and bring them back to school the following week. Mr. Miller and Mrs. Johnson’s health classes are actively involved in student-centered lessons. Check your child’s binder/

folder to see what activities they have been learning in health. It makes for great conversations at home.

Family Life forms were sent home with every 7th and 8th grade student on September 7th. Due to the new change in the

collecting procedures, we only need those opting out to return the forms to their teacher.

C2.0 Math-6: Students will be working on fractions, decimals, and percents. Students will convert ratios to decimals and per-cents, and find the percent of quantities.

C2.0 IM: Students are focusing on applying proportions to real world situations. They will be calculating commission, and percent of increase and decrease. Students will also use discourse and reasoning to solve multi-step scenarios, and analyze their solu-tions. Students will be using the four operations with rational numbers without the use of their calculator as we move into Unit

2.

Math 7: students are working on proportional relationships. Middle schoolers tend to be all about relationships, so this unit will hit close to home! While having discourse around number relationships, students are learning strategies towards learning about how we use proportions in our daily lives, applying fraction and decimal skills. We encourage families that find themselves in the grocery store to take note: your 7th grader can find the unit rates to determine the better buy! Your Rosa Parks math teachers would like to thank you for supporting math practice at home on nightly homework. Happy shopping

Math 8 : Students will be exploring the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the relationship between side lengths of right triangles. Students will link their previous understanding of square roots with their knowledge of the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the distance between two points on the coordinate plane and solve real-world and mathematical problems.

C2.0 Algebra: Students are on Unit-1. They are solving equations, inequalities, analyzing problems with exponents. They will be moving toward exploring the laws of exponents and exponential equations. Students need to have a graphing calculator.

C2.0 Honors Geometry: Students are finishing up with con-

structions. For the next topic they will be using their knowledge of geometric figures to write formal proofs of geometric theo-rems.

Digital Literacy Students have begun using their budding computer skills to conduct short research projects that are predicated on solving problems. Typically, the students are asked to consider a topic, explore the different aspects and then define a problem relat-ed to the subject. After examining the problem, the researcher looks for and suggests possible solutions based on facts de-rived from their investigation. With the MAP-r complete, stu-dents will be encouraged to identify those areas that require additional practice, and they will begin to take practice tests to build familiarity with the concepts and vocabulary that pre-sented the most difficulty.

6th Grade English Sixth grade students are reviewing foundational skills such as sentence structure and characterization. Students have been engaged in their first novel study of either Maniac Magee or Tuck Everlasting, and they will soon write a brief narrative using one of the characters from the novel study.

7th Grade English Students in English 7 are midway through Unit 1: Identity. They have just finished their first out of three Common Tasks for the quarter and are currently working on their second: Personal Narrative. Students will be reading Freak the Mighty or Wednesday Wars in class and at home, and will be identifying/analyzing Narrative elements in these texts to supplement their writing assignment.

8th Grade English Students are now working on their second Common Task for the quarter. Students in the Narrative Pathway are completing assignments and reviews on language and word choice, while students now in the Argument Pathway have just begin brain-storming ideas for their product review. Students have read around three-four books for their Reader’s Workshop. By the end of the quarter, students will want to have read about six to seven books.

RPMS Dolphin Athletics

Welcome back Dolphin Parents! The cross country and softball seasons are well underway. Be-

fore you know it, the Basketball Season will be here. Try outs for basketball will begin Novem-

ber 28th. Before that date, please make sure all your childs forms are returned and Any ques-

tions please contact me .

For questions regarding the athletics program at Rosa Parks MS, please contact: Evan Miller, Athletic Coordinator, at Evan_J_Miller@mcpsmd.org

Order Your Yearbook Today! Order today on the Rosa Parks Middle School Website.

Only $28 now through December 31st.

Use the link that looks like the picture below and follow the directions.

OR

Complete an order form and bring it to Mrs. Woodward in room C208.

Order forms are in the main office.

ORDER TODAY (cheapest price of the year)!!!!!!

Montgomery County Schools News and Events…

The MCPS Parent Academy Fall 2017 Schedule of Work-shops is now available online! The MCPS Parent Academy workshops give parents tips and tools to help their children succeed in school. All workshops are FREE and held at schools and locations throughout Montgomery County. Child care (ages 4 –12) and interpretation services are provided. To request a sign language interpreter, please call 301-517-5539. For workshops descriptions and additional information, please visit the website at www.mcpsparentacademy.org or call 240-314-4860.

Media Center Happenings… The library has started the year off with a bang!

Our two signature programs; Book Wars, and the Library

Organization Committee (LOC) have begun meeting. Ad-

ditionally, the Mobile Library, or Media Center on Wheels

has been vising classrooms, helping to fulfill on of the

library’s core goals, getting great books in the hands of

our great student population!

Save the Date…

Parents who would like to be a part of the planning are invited to attend a planning meeting on November 13th at 3:10 p.m. in the Media Center.

A Celebration of Culture

Thursday, February 22, 2018

We plan to celebrate with: artifacts, dancing, music,

poetry, cuisine and traditions from around the world

and in our neighborhood.

Please offer to volunteer your time, talents , and/or treasures

(for display).

E-Mail: gina_p_woodward@mcpsmd.org or sa-

rah_k_devlin@mcpsmd.org