Last week was a busy one here at RCMS, especially with many of our teachers catching up from NYC (not to mention Halloween, and a few little baseball games!). What follows is an uncharacteristically utilitarian mash-up of updates and announcements from last week, in an effort to keep everyone connected and informed. Thanks, as always, for reading…
High School Options Night
On Monday night, parents took advantage of the chance to hear from and ask questions of representatives from Seneca Valley, Poolesville, Richard Montgomery, Edison, Einstein, and Northwest about programs and options for high schools. (Agenda & info sheet here)
One important clarification: Students may apply to both the IB countywide program at Richard Montgomery and the IB regional program within their catchment area for the foreseeable future. The MCPS Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs Special Programs website offers presentations and documents for parents and schools. Additionally, here is a link to an informational flyer that provides more information.
Math Team
The math team sent eight of its members to its first competition of the year this weekend at the Mathalon Contest in Laurel, MD. This ia the first time we get to test our skills against mathletes across the region. Our hats are off to Sumedh Vangara, Milo Stammers, Pranav Karthikeyan, Neel Bhattacharyya, Saahas Yadulla, David Ruan, Swarnabh Maharjan and Eric Huang!
Math Team will not have a practice on November 6th (Wednesday). The selected 20 Math Team members will participate in the Region 1 Middle School Math Meet at Kingsview Middle School. The event will start at 4:00 PM and ends at 5:30 PM. No transportation provided.
National Cryptologic Museum
On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, 8th grade students learned about secret world of codes and ciphers in a fun and exciting way. They started the day by hearing a story, “The Gold Bug,” and then tried to decipher the message from the story using substitution cipher. Then, they were given a Scavenger Hunt Questionnaire, which they had to complete by exploring the museum. The hunt was followed by an answer session in the museum classroom. The museum staff went over the questionnaires in a fun and interactive way, and she also gave additional historical information concerning the exhibits. Students were rewarded with frisbees and pencils for correct answers. In the following weeks, students will learn about some basic encryption algorithms and program it using python.
Parent Advisory Council: October Meeting
Tuesday night we facilitated our second PAC meeting, with light but much appreciated attendance. If you missed it, here is the no-frills slide deck. If you have questions or need more information, give us a call at school or contact Amanda Graver, PAC President. Hope to see you at the next meeting!
. . . And also . . . GO, NATS!
