Students are enjoying after-school clubs — both old and new. After school clubs are a way to engage with friends and peers. There are many different clubs where anybody can join, tryouts, and sign-ups. Homework Club, a club where students can do their homework, study, and get help from their classmates and friends. Homework Club runs…

As of the 2022-2023 school year, FCPS has enforced a new, harsher, policy regarding cell phone use in schools, which is being met by the mixed feelings of both students and teachers. This year’s new phone policy states that students are prohibited from using any electronic devices other than their laptops during school hours, using…

“I love recess because I get to spend time with my friends for 10 minutes — but it’s ok!” said Uma Sarkar, an eighth-grader on the Discovery team.  “It helps me take my mind off of things, and helps me get rid of any stress or anxiety from the day.” Outside on the blacktops and…

“I always tell my kids one day you will move out, will have a roommate and you will need to  learn how to do these things yourself,” said Mrs. Rachel Arculin, the RCMS FACS Teacher. FACS, or Family And Consumer Sciences, is a class that has been taught in schools since the nineteenth century. It…

After the first full in-person academic year since 2019, the school year is finally coming to an end. To conclude the year, Rachel Carson Middle School is hosting multiple end-of-the-year celebration activities to congratulate students on the hard work and determination they put into finishing this year on a high note.   The celebration consists of…

Security cameras are scheduled to be installed by fall 2022 at Rachel Carson Middle School, and some students are happy about this advancement while others are wary. Following the plan, 50 interior cameras and 17 exterior cameras will be installed. The interior cameras will be placed in the hallways of the school and will not…

The rules for how RCMS is going to implement recess into school starting next school year have been announced. Recess will be implemented into a specific period and will be 15 minutes long at a minimum. Due to a no phone policy that is being voted on in the summer of 2022, phone usage will…

Whether she is vigorously rehearsing beautiful pieces of music or attempting to devour seven tacos in 12 minutes, Mrs. Devyn Grimes shows the students of RCMS that orchestra is never a dull place to be. Mrs. Grimes is an orchestra teacher at Carson who strives to create a productive and enjoyable environment for her students…

RCMS’s Model United Nations delegates won several awards while participating in the annual TechMUN conference on May 13 at Thomas Jefferson High School. “I was looking forward to attending the conference for a long time and was very excited as I knew it would be a good experience for me,” said Aarna Bhamidipati, an eighth-grader…

Approximately 400 RCMS students participated in a walkout on May 27 to honor the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting. They gathered on the blacktop where they stood for 21 minutes — one minute for each life lost. Many of the students also chose to bring signs and posters to the blacktop, wanting to…

“When I first started teaching, we had to go to a computer lab,” Mrs. Carrie Guild, history teacher for the All Stars team, laughed. “There were no laptops, kids didn’t have phones, there were no iPads.”  Mrs. Guild began teaching in 2002 at Sandburg Middle School. She taught there for two years before moving to…

In FCPS, schools have started using laptops and teachers have adapted to using online learning tools to engage students. According to an anonymous poll, the most popular learning tools were Kahoot and Quizlet mostly because of their user-friendly interface.  Commonly used ones were Kahoot, Quizlet, Gimkit, Blooket, Mathspace, NoRedInk, Desmos, Socrative, Quizizz, and Quizlet Live. …