Excused and unexcused absence policy
Ariya Lee, Editor • May 30, 2023

Every day, FCPS is required to record the attendance of students. However, there are excused absences and unexcused absences.  According to the Attendance Policies page on the FCPS website, students can be absent (excused...

Rohan Deshmukh is getting ready to hit a ball in cricket
RCMS student goes from a low performance to an overseas cricket tournament in one year
Tyler Shin and AJ Overbey May 25, 2023

"I knew it was going to be a lot of work,” said Rohan Deshmukh, an eighth-grader on the Voyagers team, “but it was worth it.” Rohan is a cricket player who is bound for an international cricket tournament in England...

Students start working on their delicacies after directions for the new recipe are
given by Ms. Heather Sullivan, the Cooking club teacher.
Cooking club -- a culinary adventure
Anne Mitchell, Christiana DeFede, and Shresta Vishnu Bhotla May 23, 2023

Excitement fills the Family and Consumer Sciences room after school every Tuesday as students rummage through cabinets for ingredients, scurry around the room for utensils and yell across the room to grab their teacher’s...

Fridays for Future members hold up signs. From left: Momo Lepsch, Sienna McIntyre, Ariya Lee, Nethra Purushothaman.
Fridays for Future at RCMS gets students passionate about climate change
Aditi Sudeep, Writer • May 13, 2023

Fridays for Future is a new movement at RCMS formed to inspire kids in our school to act against climate and inspire them to make a difference. “We got the idea from another activist we know and we thought it would...

Mrs. Devyn Grimes, the orchestra teacher of RCMS, works with the ensemble orchestra group on their spring concert song, April 18, inside the orchestra room.
All 5 RCMS orchestra groups achieve “Superior” ratings at music assessment
Ryan Kim, Writer • May 12, 2023

At their music assessment in March at Marshall High School, all of the RCMS orchestra groups got all superior ratings on their music assessment. On March 11, all five RCMS orchestra levels–Ensemble, Concert, Philharmonic,...

Climate action protest with Ariya Lee (holding megaphone), and Nethra Purushothaman (left of Ariya). Courtesy photo.
The Willow Project grows increasingly controversial and helps students to go the extra mile
Malia Krause, Writer • May 12, 2023

The Willow Project pushes student activists a step farther with their projects in building awareness. “I was kind of shocked when it was approved,” said Ariya Lee, an eighth-grader on voyagers. There is a climate...

Roman Moreno-Hines, an eighth-grader works outside on his laptop.
Despite drawbacks, SOLs remain schools' go-to choice for testing
Jagruthi Narra, Writer • May 12, 2023

SOL season has arrived, and while new testing methods have been tried, teachers and state and federal officials have yet to find the perfect alternative to standardized testing. “I am not a one size fits all teacher,...

Tyler Shin (left) and Dylan Lu (right), eighth-graders on the Discovery team, play a game of over-the-board chess, a style of playing that many have switched to at RCMS.
RCMS blocks latest distraction -- chess
Arjun Garg and Dylan Lu May 12, 2023

Many students and staff of RCMS, recognizing both pros and cons of students' enjoyment of chess, were uncertain about the March 24 block of the popular platform Chess.com. Zoeb Izzi, an eighth grader on the Explorers team,...

Seventh-grader Alara Krause points at the school calendar.
RCMS students and staff have mixed feelings on new three-year calendar
Emma Mazur, Writer • May 12, 2023

Fairfax County School Board released a new three-year calendar in February in hopes of recognizing diversity among students and staff. The calendar includes more holidays and cultural observances. Changes were made to...

 Model UN team goes to Thomas Jefferson High School for Technology and Science for the annual conference, and wins Best Middle School on March 25, 2023.
‘Mun-Mun-Munkeys’ win Best Middle School at TJ’s conference
Eva Sonis and Charita Vootkur May 12, 2023

The Carson Model UN team competed in April at the TechMun XXX conference at Thomas Jefferson High School and won the Best Middle School award for the year -- the fifth time RCMS has won this award. Members of the Carson...

Eighth-grader, Emma-Grace Kim posing to outdoor security camera
New security camera installation at RCMS strikes doubts in students and staff
Hanna Kovacs and Srivi Buddhavarapu May 12, 2023

 Many RCMS students found the installation of the new security cameras unnerving, while teachers and staff think of it more as a tool. “I don’t think I’ve seen changes in students, rather in teachers and what they’ve...

Vapes come in all different shapes and sizes
Despite its appearance, vaping is highly addictive and dangerous
Tess Koltai, Writer • May 12, 2023

Most teenagers start vaping because they think it’s a safe alternative to smoking, which is not true at all. In fact, one JUUL pod, which is a disposable vape cartridge, is equivalent to 20 cigarettes.  In the Fairfax...

RCMS students leave for Spring break on March 31.
FCPS parents and staff reject proposals to shorten spring break for coming two years
Phoebe Shi, Writer • May 11, 2023
Discussions stir around the best length for Spring break
Faysal Jan, a seventh- grader interacts with ChatGPT.
Best uses of ChatGPT debated
Faysal Jan, Writer • May 11, 2023

With new artificial intelligence technology released this school year, both experts and school staff are trying to figure out how to use it to help and not to harm their learning. A program called ChatGPT has recently...

RCMS Science Olympiad Coach Raj Rai is holding the 4th place trophy the RCMS Science Olympiad team earned at the State tournament.
Carson Science Olympiad team earns fourth place at state tournament
Ealbu Nithilaselvan and Tyler Shin May 11, 2023

RCMS Science Olympiad team placed fourth at the Virginia State Tournament on March 25 at UVA by achieving 12 individual medals.  “I looked at the websites that were given to us and did a lot of practice tests.” Neha...

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