What's Happening at Rushe

Hello Raven Families,

It's hard to believe that this week marks the halfway point of the first quarter - time flies when we're having fun! Although progress reports are not posted until September 20, it's always a good time to check your progress in myStudent to make sure all assignments are submitted and you are on-track for success!

Always remember, we ARE Ravens and Ravens soar to success! Have a wonderful week of learning.

Parents and Guardians, if you have not already done so, please log in to your myPascoConnect parent portals to acknowledge the Parents' Bill of Rights information. These are critical documents that can impact the services we provide your student(s) and should be reviewed annually. To learn more about the Parents' Bill of Rights, click HERE.

Click HERE to login or set up a parent portal account.

The Duke Energy Great American Teach-In is part of Pasco County Schools’ annual American Education Week celebration. Sponsored by our company since 1994, it’s a special opportunity for you to visit the public school of your choice and share what you know with a new generation.

This year’s event is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. You may choose to stay for an hour or for the whole day! The amount of time you volunteer is determined strictly by what your schedule permits and what the teacher wants to accomplish.

Whatever the length of your visit, you can make a difference. Thousands of previous Teach-In participants have inspired students by sharing their experiences and professions.

To register for the CSRMS Great American Teach-In, click HERE or visit our school website for more information. Registrants do NOT need complete the new volunteer requirements.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, please encourage your students to participate in Florida’s art and essay contests based on this year’s theme: “Honoring Hispanic Contributions to Florida’s Success.” Students in grades K-3 are invited to participate in an art contest, while students in grades 4-12 are invited to participate in an essay contest. Additionally, students, parents, teachers and principals are invited to nominate full-time educators of all student grades for the Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence in Education Award.

The Hispanic Heritage Month art contest is open to all Kindergarten through third-grade students in Florida. Each student will submit original, two-dimensional artwork based on this year’s theme. Four statewide winners will be selected, and each winner will receive a $100 gift card for school supplies and a 1-year pass to Florida State Parks.

The Hispanic Heritage Month essay contest is open to all students attending any Florida school in grades 4-12. Six winners will be selected: two elementary school students (grades 4-5), two middle school students (grades 6-8), and two high school students (grades 9-12). Each winner will receive a 2-year Florida College Plan scholarship provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and a $100 gift card for school supplies.

Contestants must be Florida residents, attend school in Florida in grades 4-12 (including public, charter, private, home or virtual) and be able to provide a Social Security Number. Each student may enter only one essay, written in English, no longer than 500 words. The subject of the essay should be a Floridian.

Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence in Education Award Contest is open to all full-time educators in an elementary, middle, or high school in Florida. Four winners will be selected, and nominations may be submitted by a principal, teacher, parent/guardian, or student. Excellence in Education award winners will receive $2,500 from Volunteer Florida.

Student contest forms and educator nomination forms must be mailed to Volunteer Florida or submitted online at www.FloridaHispanicHeritage.com.

All entries must be received by 5 p.m. (ET) on Friday, September 13, 2024.

For more information about the contests, please visit www.FloridaHispanicHeritage.com.

The Pasco County School District is participating in a full-scale K-12 adoption of Science instructional materials aligned to the Florida’s State Academic Standards for Science. We would like to invite you to be part of the narrowing team, which serves to review and narrow the materials submitted by publishers during the adoption process. To submit your interest for an opportunity to serve on the narrowing team, please complete this form. There is an 8-10 evening commitment for this work. A detailed list of courses to be reviewed, dates, and times of narrowing team commitments are available on the instructional materials adoption website. The deadline to submit your interest is September 20, 2024. Parents/guardians selected through the randomized screening process will be notified by October 7 via email. We appreciate your partnership in this very important work.

Happy Sunday, Raven Families! We are in full swing with our membership drive for this year’s PTSA. We wanted to use this week to highlight our Community Business Membership/Sponsorship program. We are excited to once again partner with many amazing businesses in our community. Check out the fence along Mentmore and Sunlake Blvd. to see our current partners. If you have or know of anyone with a business that would like to partner with the Rushe PTSA, please direct them to Rushe website’s PTSA page. All the information on business membership is located there. Our first meeting of the school year will be Thursday, September 12th in the media center at 4:30pm. We look forward to seeing you there!

To become a Pasco County Schools volunteer!

Charles S. Rushe Middle School has continually been recognized as a Golden School for volunteers in the state of Florida, and this past year is no different! Thank you to all our past, present, and future volunteers for their dedication to Rushe.

Volunteers are a vital part of building relationships between school, parents, community members, and business partners. We truly appreciate the hours our volunteers serve in our schools and the value they add to the educational experience for our students.

To continue to ensure the safety of our students, the District is making several changes to our volunteer requirement and application process for the 2024-2025 school year. Effective 8/1/2024, all volunteers will be required to complete a Level 2 background screening every 5 years. This background check will review records in the state of Florida as well as the national FBI database. The cost for this screening is $41.25 and volunteers will be responsible for this cost. Volunteers will need to be complete an annual volunteer application to ensure accurate records.

Click the image above to complete the Volunteer Application!

This year, all teachers at CSRMS are focusing on increasing student exposure to text and writing. To do so, we will be utilizing the following strategies in ALL classrooms throughout the school year.

Students are now teamed according to their 4th period teacher. Students will need to know their team (Teal, Black, White, or Gold) for a variety of events (expectations meetings, pep rallies, promotion ceremonies, etc.).

Please remember to pull all the way to the front (as close to the bike rack on each side). Do not stop under the awnings. In addition, please do not park in the car line. If you wish to wait to have your child leave your vehicle, please park in a space and have your child use the crosswalk. Also, for the safety of all students and staff, please do not use the center parking area to cut through, and do not let students out along Mentmore or Sunlake Boulevards.

To ensure your continued safety, remember to only cross the road at crosswalks, and be sure there are no incoming vehicles before crossing. Please consider wearing reflective clothing/accessories to increase your visibility to drivers, particularly in the morning. Bike riders, remember to wear a helmet at all times. For the safety of others, please walk your bicycles when you are on campus. Remember to lock your bicycles inside of the bike racks. Any bikes locked on the outside of the bike racks will have their locks cut and will be confiscated for parents to pick up.

If you or your child are a bike rider, please watch this important bike safety video.

Each district school board shall adopt a dress code policy that prohibits a student, while on the grounds of a public school during the regular school day, from wearing clothing that exposes underwear or body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner or that disrupts the orderly learning environment.

These guidelines are in effect while on any District School Board of Pasco County school or campus, at any school function or on any school-sponsored transportation:

• Students must wear opaque (not see through) clothing that has fabric on the front, back, and on the sides of the body extending from under the arms to cover the entire chest, entire genital area, entire buttocks area, and must extend below the buttocks area.
• Shirts must have sleeves or straps and extend to the waistband of pants/shorts/skirts/or other bottoms.
• Students may not have exposed undergarments, which would include any and all portions of a student’s underwear or bra.
• Students must wear appropriate footwear, which must secure to the heel. No slides or Crocs are allowed. All footwear must have a sole that affords traction and protection to the foot. Socks (when worn alone) and “house” or “bed” slippers are not permissible.
• Clothing must be suitable for all scheduled classroom activities including physical education, career-technical education, science labs, and other activities where unique hazards exist.
• Specialized courses may require specialized attire such as sports uniforms or safety gear

In addition, the following items are considered inappropriate for the school environment and are not permissible:

• Wallet chains, spiked jewelry, dog collars, or similar items
• Slippers or similar shoes
• Pajamas or costumes (unless approved by school administration for special events, etc.)
• Hats, bandanas, or head coverings (unless preapproved administratively for medical, religious reasons and/or for special school activities)

For more information regarding dress code, read the 2024-2025 Student Code of Conduct, page 27.

Grades 6 through 8 – Students who bring WCDs to school must ensure that they remain on silent mode and completely out of view for the entire school day except for when expressly authorized by the classroom teacher for a specific instructional activity. Classroom teachers may also provide, and students may utilize, a cell phone storage area in their classroom. These expectations also apply to extracurricular and co-curricular activities that occur before or after the school day.

For more information regarding WCDs, read the 2024-2025 Student Code of Conduct, page 31.

Tickets to all CSRMS home athletic events will be sold online through GoFan. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door and must be redeemed upon entry in the presence of a ticket taker. Tickets redeemed before entering will be null and void and attendees will be required to purchase a new entry (no screenshots!). No reentry is permitted once your ticket is redeemed. Please do not ask to leave and return after entering.

All bags are subject to search upon entry. Bags and items not permitted on Pasco County Schools property must be returned to the patron’s vehicle. ONLY clear plastic, clear vinyl, or clear Ziploc bags are permitted inside an event venue. Student athletes are permitted to bring bags. These bags are subject to search. Small clutch or wallet style bags no larger than 4 inches by 6 inches are permitted for entry but will be subject to search. All other styles of bags such as backpacks, fanny packs, purses and duffle bags are not permitted. An exception will be made for medically necessary items, diaper bags, and properly credentialed school and professional photographers’ camera bags. These bags will be subject to search prior to entry, unless the item meets the clear bag guidelines. Please refer to the “Event Security Procedures” document on the district website for more details pertaining to this countywide policy.

This Week and Beyond

• September 9 - Bus Evacuation Drills (AM only)
• September 9 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
• September 9 - Volleyball Game vs Cypress Creek MS (@Cypress Creek), 6:00-8:00 PM 🏐
• September 10 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
• September 10 - Football Game vs. Raymond B. Stewart MS (@ RBSMS), 6:30-8:30 PM🏈
• September 11 - 6th Grade Health Screening - Parent's Bill of Rights MUST be completed beforehand. See section above for more information.
• September 11 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 11 - 7th Grade NJHS Meeting, 1:45-2:30 PM in Media Center
• September 11 - Yearbook Club, 1:50-2:30 PM in Room 337📷
• September 11 - Civil Air Patrol, 2:00-4:00 PM in Room 104
• September 11 - Builders Club, 2:00-3:00 PM in PE Classroom
• September 12 - Pep Rally for Football, Volleyball, and Cheer (Activity Bell Schedule; Teal Team attending)
• September 12 - HOSA Club, 1:45-2:45 PM in Room 237
• September 12 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 12 - CSRMS PTSA Meeting, 4:30-5:30 PM in PE Classroom
• September 12 - All State Honor Choir Auditions, 5:00-8:00 PM at Powell Middle School, Spring Hill
• September 12 - Volleyball Game vs. Centennial MS, 6:00-8:00 PM (@ CSRMS)🏐
• September 13 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭

• September 16-20 - Spirit Week (see flyer below for dress-up days!)
  

• September 16 - SGA Meeting, 2:00-2:45 PM in Room 311
• September 16 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 16 - Volleyball Game vs. Raymond B. Stewart MS, 6:00-8:00 PM (@CSRMS)🏐
• September 17 - Student of the Month, 9:00-9:30 AM in PE Classroom
• September 17 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 17 - Football Game vs. Thomas E. Weightman MS, 6:30-8:30 PM (@CSRMS)🏈
• September 18 - 8th Grade NJHS Meeting, 1:45-2:30 PM in Media Center
• September 18 - Fellowship for Christian Athletes, 1:45-2:30 PM in PE Classroom
• September 18 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 18 - Civil Air Patrol, 2:00-4:00 PM in Room 104
• September 19 - School Advisory Council Meeting, 7:40-9:10 AM in Staff Development Room
• September 19 - ATP Video #2 & Fire Drill Video #2
• September 19 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 20 - Progress Reports
• September 20 - One Act Play Rehearsal, 2:00-3:30 PM in Cafeteria/Room 210 🎭
  
• September 20 - Back to School Dance, 6-8:30 PM (see flyer below)
  

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