Rocky Run Middle School
Encyclopedia
Rocky Run Middle School (Cluster 7, Grades 7-8) is a public middle school in Fairfax County, Virginia
. As of September 2007, the school accommodates 814 students. Being a GT (FCPS Gifted and talented program) magnet school, it is fed by many elementary schools, including Brookfield, Bull Run, Greenbriar East, Greenbriar West, Poplar Tree, Willow Springs, and Centreville. The school is located on the borders of many suburban neighborhoods and is on Stringfellow Road, a main road that will soon be expanded.
All enrolled students are required to take five "core" classes, as follows:
Students can choose four semester-long elective classes, or two year-long elective classes. A combination of the both, (one year-long, two semester-long) is also permitted. Some electives, especially advanced classes, language courses, and music-related courses, are year-long choices, but most, especially for seventh-graders, are only semester-length classes.
Electives include:
Some electives require auditions or screenings, such as advanced choirs, band classes, orchestras, or Theatre Arts. Foreign Language courses are credit courses for high school. These courses will affect the student's high school grade point average, if taken. Higher courses are also available online.
Rocky Run has music warning bells.
These teams each have their own teachers for the "core" courses, but students going to another team's teacher (cross-teamed) may happen based on electives, the honors program, and number of students enrolled.
Profile: http://www.fcps.edu/suptapps/schoolprofile/profile.cfm?profile_id=251
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. As of September 2007, the school accommodates 814 students. Being a GT (FCPS Gifted and talented program) magnet school, it is fed by many elementary schools, including Brookfield, Bull Run, Greenbriar East, Greenbriar West, Poplar Tree, Willow Springs, and Centreville. The school is located on the borders of many suburban neighborhoods and is on Stringfellow Road, a main road that will soon be expanded.
Academics
All enrolled students are required to take five "core" classes, as follows:
- Mathematics (Algebra 1 (7th and 8th grade) & Geometry (8th grade) are available for high school credit)
- Life Sciences (Grade 7)/Physical Sciences (Grade 8)
- US History 1877–Present (Grade 7)/Civics & Economics (Grade 8)
- English
- Physical Education/Health
Electives
Students can choose four semester-long elective classes, or two year-long elective classes. A combination of the both, (one year-long, two semester-long) is also permitted. Some electives, especially advanced classes, language courses, and music-related courses, are year-long choices, but most, especially for seventh-graders, are only semester-length classes.
Electives include:
- Art
- Family and Consumer sciences(Home Ec or Teen Living)
- Foreign Language
- Music Participation Lab
- Band: Cadet, Concert, Symphonic
- Orchestra: Intermediate, Concert, String Ensemble, Chamber
- Chorus: Rocky Run Chorus, Advanced Women Choir, Concert Choir, Show Choir
- Technology education(Shop Class)
- Industrial education
- Theater Arts Appreciation
- Yearbook
- Peer helping (also commonly known as Peer Mediation)
- WROK (The school's bi-weekly television program)
Some electives require auditions or screenings, such as advanced choirs, band classes, orchestras, or Theatre Arts. Foreign Language courses are credit courses for high school. These courses will affect the student's high school grade point average, if taken. Higher courses are also available online.
Rocky Run has music warning bells.
Teams
The school enrollment in Rocky Run is divided into large sections, or teams. There are eight teams at Rocky Run:| 7th Grade | 8th Grade |
|---|---|
| Patriots | Trailblazers |
| Stars | Freedoms |
| Nationals | Eagles |
| Capitals | Liberty |
These teams each have their own teachers for the "core" courses, but students going to another team's teacher (cross-teamed) may happen based on electives, the honors program, and number of students enrolled.
Awards
- The school's advanced theatre arts class performed their 30-minute rendition of William Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
at both the Folger TheatreFolger Shakespeare LibraryThe Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period...
in Washington, D.C. and Chantilly High SchoolChantilly High SchoolChantilly High School is a high school located in the Chantilly CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system.-Overview:...
. The school took home three awards at the Folger and seven at Chantilly. Their "Traveling Shakespeare Troupe" was featured in FCPS's School Scene on Red Apple 21, the local Public-access televisionPublic-access televisionPublic-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
channel.
- During the 2005-2006 school year, Rocky Run teacher Jamie Sawatzky was named 2006 Virginia Preserve America History Teacher. See:
- During the 2010-2011 school year, Rocky Run orchestra director, Stephen Matthie was honored with the Outstanding New Strings Teacher of the Year award for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
- During the 2010-2011 school year, Jamie Sawatzky was awarded teacher of the year in FCPS schools.
- Lance Baldwin- Rocky Run's only Technology Education(Shop) teacher, received an award for being the best shop teacher in FCPS schools in 2008 and 2011.
May 2007 food tampering
On May 22, 2007, a thirteen-year-old girl who purchased lunch in the school cafeteria discovered a large pin in her salad container. This incident is similar to the April 2007 Rachel Carson food tampering incident, but the two are believed to not be related.Demographics
Rocky Run is predominantly white/non-Hispanic, with approximately 62% of its students belonging to this ethnicity. The Asian/Pacific Islander population is at around 22%, the second-highest ethnic group in the school.Attendance rate and test scores
The attendance rate at Rocky Run is 97%, 2 percentage points above the Virginia state average of 95%. In 2009, the eighth grade SOL results for reading (99%), writing (96%), science (98%), and math (99%) were higher than the state averages (87%, 89%, 90%, 85%, respectively). The seventh grade math and reading averages, which were 96% and 99%, were also higher than the state averages of 71% and 89%.Feeder schools
- Colin Powell Elementary School
- Bull Run Elementary School
- Greenbriar East Elementary School
- Greenbriar West Elementary School
- Poplar Tree Elementary School
- Willow Springs Elementary School
- Centreville Elementary School
- Brookfield Elementary School
- Mosby Woods Elementary School
External links
Website:http://www.fcps.edu/RockyRunMS/Profile: http://www.fcps.edu/suptapps/schoolprofile/profile.cfm?profile_id=251