New Middle School Moves Forward

Jane Ward, RCF/Westland Parent and member of the site selection committee for the proposed new BCC Cluster middle school reports that the committee has arrived at a recommendation and alternates. These recommendations will not be released to the public until they have been presented Superintendent. The Board of Education will consider the recommendation at their March 8 meeting. Remember, most meetings can be watched live on cable or online.

While assignments to the new school will occur later in the process, it is reasonable to assume that RCF would attend due to our geographic location within the cluster. On the one hand, a new building would be terrific. On the other, there are not many site that meet the size criteria for a middle school and at a minimum, it would be a few years before the new school could be certified as an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB/MYP) school, if at all. Westland currently has a highly regarded IB/MYP. Further the new middle school will need to funded through the Capital Improvement Budget (CIP) around the same time as our modernization. In a period with tight budgets, this is very difficult.

To refresh your memories, the proposed new middle school has come about because Westland middle school is projected to become overcrowded in the near future. This situation will be exacerbated should the 6th grades currently at North Chevy Chase and Chevy Chase ES be moved to Westland. So why would the 6th grades move to Westland? Under the current budget constraints, it has been very hard for the county to provide an equivelant education to those students in a elementary school setting (in MCPS speak this is called "parity").

Issues with 6th grade at Elementary Schools:

1. The ES school day is 1/2 hour shorter.


2. The ES is not set up to provide daily PE (MS students have PE everyday).


3. Foreign language was cut last year in a budgetary move to save money. It was restored at the last budget meeting.

Deficit in Montgomery County $200 Million Greater than Thought

For those of you who are deeply interested in Maryland Politics I highly recommend the Maryland Politics Blog. In this latest posting, Adam Pagnucco posts a memo from Ike Leggett to Council Chair Nancy Floreen alerting the County Council to expect an even greater budget deficit than earlier expected.

On going Middle School Debate

There has been a lot written in the press about the proposal by Superintendent Weast to build a new middle school to serve the eastern side of the cluster and relieve future overcrowding at Westland. I encourage all parents to take a look at Washingtonpost.com and Gazette.net for background information and read our blog posts at www.buildanewrcf.blogspot.com for the PTA and Cluster postions.

In a nutshell, we are concerned that we have not had adequate time or information to assess the impact of a new middle school on our community, nor has the Superintendent specifically said that RCF would articulate to the new school. Given that we are sandwiched between North Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase and Rosemary Hills, it is likely that we would go to a new school though.

Welcome coffee a smash!

The school year got off to a caffinated start with the annual welcome coffee. Parents were welcomed into the teachers lounge to enjoy coffee and snacks. It was a time to reconnect with old friends and to meet new people. Mr. Chia stopped by to say hello and to welcome parents back to the school year.

Many thanks to Stacy Gold for organizing this fun event!

Spruced up landscaping

Those of you driving by the school over the last few days must have noticed the hard work going on in the front. Thanks to Charlotte Knepper and Suzanne Krauth for organizing this effort. This is the beginning of an on going effort to reignite a beautification committee. If you are interested in working on this, get in touch with Charlotte.

The front beds were weeded and mulched and flowers were planted below the school sign. It is amazing what a difference it makes. Look for photos soon!

safety improvements to Grubb Road

We have just received word that the county will be making safety improvements to the crossing between Rock Creek Forest ES and the Rock Creek Shopping Center on Grubb Road.

RCF Parent, Ellie Mosch, and the RCFPTA worked together to bring the dangerous situation to the attention of the county and it looks like they agreed with our assessment, because the construction begins immediately!

The County is constructing a "traffic calming measure" which consists of a cross walk with a median concrete strip to slow traffic and allow people, especially children, to cross safely.

I have attached the PDF from the county outlining the exact measures. Many thanks to Ellie for getting the project rolling!

GrubbRdTraffic

Field Day

 

It was one of the loveliest field days in a long time - cool and cloudy, instead of hot and muggy. The kids ran the bases, participated in an obstacle course, had a jump rope contest, did the 50 yard dash and several other fun activities.

As is tradition at Rock Creek Forest, the day ended with the 5th grade engaged in a tug of war to the finish, culminating in popsicles for the entire school.

I know many kids wished every day was field day!

Mr. Conti, as always, did a wonderful job coordinating all the activities and making sure that all the kids had a good time, from the ones who win every race to the ones picking dandelions because they didn't notice there was a race going on around them. Many parents helped out with the water station provided by the PTA, handed out popsicles and watched the fun. Thanks to everyone who participated, especially Charlotte Knepper, who picked up the popsicles and Jane Ward who stored them and got them to school on time!