MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Rocky Hill Middle School
22401 Brick Haven Way
Clarksburg, Maryland 20871
Office 301-353-8282
FAX 301-601-3197
Dr. Cynthia Eldridge,
Principal
Dear Rocky Hill Families,
I hope you are having a restful summer and are looking forward to the start of a new school year. I am
enthusiastic to work with our RHMS staff to provide your child high quality learning and social experiences as
I enter my 20th year in MCPS, and my third year as the RHMS principal. Our staff is committed to our students
and we value the trust you place in us every day. On behalf of the entire RHMS staff, I would like to welcome
you to the beginning of what is going to be a wonderful 2015-2016 school year! We welcome our new families
and thank our returning families for your collaboration, support, and involvement last school year.
Rocky Hill has an outstanding tradition of parent involvement in the school community, and I encourage all
parents to get involved throughout the year. Welcome to our PTA Executive Board: President: Alicia Wilson; PTA
Vice-President (Education): Paulette Forrest; PTA Vice-President (Fundraising): Robin Turner Gray; Treasurer:
Rowland Dennie; Secretary: Michele Tregoning; Membership: Diana Encinas. Thank you to the entire PTA Executive
Board who met numerous times this summer to plan and prepare for this coming year. Please check out the PTA
portion of the RHMS website. I strongly believe that there is no limit to what our students can accomplish
when parents and staff work together collaboratively.
We have been diligently working this summer planning the new school year. Our student population has
continued to increase over the summer. Our school will exceed 1300 students this year. In order to meet the
needs of our growing student population, I am pleased to welcome several new staff members to our school:
Nancy Bohorquez, Assistant Building Services Manager; Vlasta Belt, Financial Assistant; Patricia Braune, Special
Education; Thomas Evans, English/Reading; Warriner Gould, Compacted Math 5/6; Elise Kielek, Digital Arts; Mary
Palmer, PE/Health; Megan Schuster, English; Kim Wiles, Counselor; Daphne Williams, Special Education Resource
Teacher; Melissa Zetts, Special Education. In addition, we will be welcoming new administrators to our staff!
Ms. AnneMarie Smith will be a principal intern at Poole Middle School this year. We wish her all the best in
her new position. Matt Niper, assistant principal, joins us as a seven-year veteran administrator from Northwest
High School. The grade level administrators are as follows: Matt Niper - 6th grade administrator, Lora Brazil 7th grade administrator and Allen Ambush - 8th grade administrator. Mr. Ambush, Mrs. Brazil, Mr. Niper and I
look forward to working together as the administrative team to serve you in the upcoming year!
NEW bell times
Please note the new school times: school begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. Students may enter the
school building each day at 7:50 am. The first bell rings at 8:10 and school starts at 8:15 am. PLEASE do not
drop your child off any earlier than 7:50 am since there is no adult supervision before 7:50 am.
Arrival the first day of school
Monday, August 31, 2015 is the first day of school. Upon arrival the first day of school, students will report to
the following areas: BREAKFAST: use outside cafeteria door to enter school: students who will have breakfast
at school, must eat BEFORE going to their grade level area - SIXTH GRADE-gymnasium; SEVENTH GRADE7th grade hall (homerooms); and EIGHTH GRADE-8th grade hall (homerooms). Staff will assist students in
finding their way around our building and outside learning areas. Student schedules will be distributed on the
first day of school. To locate homeroom assignments, charts will be posted in the halls for students.
All grades will meet for an extended homeroom during the first 3 days of school. Starting on day two,
September 1 and each day after, EIGHTH GRADE- report directly to the cafeteria “Wildcat Den” upon arrival
to socialize with friends or get a pass to go see a specific teacher for assistance. SIXTH and SEVENTH GRADE
report directly to homeroom for day two and three. Starting on day four, SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADE
students will report to their first block after going to their lockers.
MCPS bus transportation, new bus routes, car riders and walker/bike riders
 Bus riders: If your child will ride an MCPS, please go on the RHMS website (“Back to School
Information” quick link (left side of webpage): transportation information) as soon as possible to
confirm your bus stop and new times. Please don’t wait until the weekend before school starts as
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routes have changed from last year. Please contact the Clarksburg Transportation department
(301) 353-0953 directly BEFORE August 25 with any bus route questions.
Morning Car Riders: Staff start assisting the car rider line at 7:50, which is the time that students can
be dropped off at school (cars start lining up early and wait to drop off). Our morning car rider line is
very long, so please make sure you follow our car rider line guidelines to help everyone move through
the line safely. Please follow all directions of school staff and pull up as far as you can in the car rider
circle. PLEASE do not drive through the parking lanes or around other cars in the car rider line. Safety
is our main priority in our car rider line. Please help us as we work together to ensure the safety of all of
our students.
Afternoon Car Riders: Please be at RHMS in the car rider line to pick up your child at 3:00 pm when
students are released. Please be on time.
Walkers: Please only cross the street at designated crosswalk areas.
Bike riders/scooters: Please secure your bike on the front bike rack and your scooter in your locker.
Maryland Green School and website use
RHMS is a Maryland Green School! Our school has demonstrated a continuous effort to integrate sustainable
best management practices and an environmental education curriculum into our daily operations. Our school
has made a commitment to developing stewards of the earth and reducing the environmental impact of our
school. As a green school we are continuing the RHMS tradition of a “green” summer mailing—you will not
have a packet mailed to your home. ALL of our updates, weekly electronic handouts and forms are on our
website. Please bookmark our school website:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rockyhillms/
 All of the items that are August hot topics are on our website at the “Back to School Information” quick
link (left side of page): transportation information, student forms, PE uniform information, recommended
supply list, MCPS important dates, bell schedule, PTA membership information, Immunization
Requirements for Incoming Grade 7 Students and other MCPS announcements.
Wildcat Welcome: NEW students
On Thursday, August 27, 2015 from 5:30-8:30 pm we will host our Wildcat Welcome event for students that are
NEW to Rocky Hill Middle School. Returning students should not attend so we can avoid over-crowding
at this event. Our Wildcat Welcome event is an informal open-house evening when parents and new students
are
invited
to
visit
the
school.
Check
out
the
flyer
on
our
website.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rockyhillms/
 Wildcat Welcome is a family event and parents are expected to please accompany their children. Please
check out the link to the flyer with all the important details.
 PLEASE attend your session at the designated time so we can avoid over-crowding at this event.
 We will have Potomac Pizza here and a portion of the proceeds support our school.
 Individual classrooms/outside learning classrooms will not be open during the Wildcat Welcome.
Back to School Nights
Teachers look forward to meeting you in the classrooms at our Back to School Night events. Due to the size of
our school we are having Back to School Night on two separate nights, designated by grade level: Tuesday,
September 8 at 7:00 pm (6th grade) and Wednesday, September 9 at 7:00 pm (7th and 8th grade).
Respectfully,
Cynthia Eldridge, Ed.D.