CSRMS Family Newsletter!

Raven Families,

🎀 Red Ribbon Week is Here!

This week we'll be celebrating Red Ribbon Week! Our counseling team has planned a daily theme and students will participate in a lesson during 4th period. The goal is to encourage conversations about making positive choices, building resilience, and living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Be sure to check out the flyer in this newsletter for all the dress-up day themes and join the fun!

🏈 Ravens Are Conference Champs... Again!

Congratulations to our Rushe Ravens football team for their big win over previously undefeated PVMS last Tuesday! With the victory, the Ravens secured their third straight conference championship. Next up is the district championship game against Seven Springs Middle School on Tuesday, November 3. Good luck, Ravens!

🎃 Halloween Dance This Friday!

Don't miss one of our favorite events of the year! Tickets are on sale now through the Parent Portal where student fees are paid through Wednesday. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 cash at the door, so save a few dollars and grab yours this week!

⏰ Early Release Wednesday

A reminder that Wednesday is an Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 11:37 a.m., and there will be no after-school activities that afternoon.

🧑‍⚕️ Great American Teach In

We're looking for a few more community members to join us for Great American Teach-In on Wed, November 18! This is a wonderful opportunity to inspire our students by sharing your career journey, including the education, training, and experiences that helped you get where you are today.

Whether you're a doctor, business owner, first responder, artist, engineer, or work in any other field, our students would love to learn from you! Check out the sign-up link below in this newsletter and consider joining us for this special day. We can't wait to welcome our guest speakers!

• Pasco Pathways School Choice Expo: Nov 9th & 10th (*not held at CSRMS)
• Great American Teach In: Wed, Nov 18th
• Recess Reloaded Field Day: Fri, Nov 20th
• Thanksgiving Break: Mon, Nov 23- Fri, Nov 27
• Winter State Testing (PM2): Dec 1-18- Schedule Coming Soon
• School Choice Open House at CSRMS: Wed, Dec 2nd
• Center for Gifted School Choice Open House at CSRMS: Wed, Dec 9th

At the beginning of the school year, we included attendance reminders and procedures from the Student Code of Conduct in several newsletters to help families navigate attendance expectations. For families who joined us later in the year, or for anyone who may have missed those reminders, we'd like to share them again.

Regular attendance is critical to student success. It's important to understand that submitting an absence excuse through the Parent Portal does not automatically make an absence excused. Whether an absence is excused or unexcused is determined by the reason for the absence and the frequency of absences, according to the guidelines outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.

Below is the attendance guidance we follow based on the Student Code of Conduct:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

All elementary, middle, and high school students who are absent will be marked “unexcused” (U) until the parent/guardian notifies the school in writing and justifies the absence with one of the acceptable reasons as defined

below:

• Failure to do so within three (3) school days will cause the absence to be recorded as “unexcused”.

• In the case of excessive or extended absences, which are claimed to be due to illness, upon request of the principal or designee, a parent must provide documentation (doctor’s statement) of a student's illness.

• Excessive or extended absences are considered three (3) consecutive days, five (5) in one calendar month, or ten (10) in a 90-calendar-day period.

• A history of excessive absences per period as defined in Student Consequences for Unexcused Absences. Absences that meet this threshold as defined above will require a doctor’s note. If doctor’s notes are not provided, absences will be marked as unexcused.

For the purposes of attendance, the following definitions apply:

• Major Illness is defined as any life altering accident/diagnosis.

• Immediate family includes but is not limited to, parents, child, siblings, legal guardians, caregiver, or a member of one’s own household.

Reasons for acceptable (excused) absences include but are not limited to:

• Illness of student.

• Major illness in the immediate family of the student. (a member of their household)

• Death in the immediate family of the student.

• Religious holiday of the student’s faith (including Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Epiphany, etc.).

• Religious instruction (including Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, etc.).

• Religious institutes, conferences, workshops, provided that the principal or designee approves the absence in advance.

• Absences for trips or other parental requests. Requests must be approved in writing by the principal or designee, at least one (1) week in advance. Only 5 days per year will be excused.

• In-school or out-of-school suspension.

• Subpoena or forced absence by any law enforcement agency, a copy of the subpoena or court summons must be submitted to the school.

• Issues and occasions specific to military families.

Tickets are available for purchase in your parent portal NOW!

An exciting U.S. History field trip is coming up soon for 6th grade students! This is a great opportunity for students to bring their learning to life and experience history beyond the classroom. To reserve your child's spot, please log in to the Parent Portal to pay the field trip fee and return all transportation and lunch request forms as soon as possible. We can't wait for this memorable adventure!

We will will have a full day of learning on October 30th, and our Red Ribbon Dress up theme is a Halloween T-shirt that day. It is encouraged that students wear a fun fall or Halloween t-shirt to school, and save their costumes for the dance that evening!

When arriving to the dance in costume, please keep the dress code expectations in mind. We will follow the same expectations as our neighbors SLHS, that aligns with the student code of conduct:

Dress Code Compliance

The Pasco Pathways Expo is just a few weeks away. Save the date for the 2026 Pasco Pathways Expo, where you can meet school representatives, explore programs and learn more about school choice opportunities for your child.

Monday, November 9
Gulf High School | 5–8 p.m.

Tuesday, November 10
Cypress Creek High School | 5–8 p.m.

Each event will offer information sessions on Pasco Pathways and school choice, dual enrollment, and early childhood programs.

Registration is open! Please visit pasco.k12.fl.us/expo to see which schools will attend each event, explore the details and sign up. See flyer here.

The holiday season is a wonderful time for our Raven community to come together and support one another. In another section of this newsletter, you'll find information about how families can reach out if they are experiencing financial hardship and may need holiday assistance.

To help support these families, our Builders Club and School Counseling Team are teaming up to collect non-perishable food items that can be used to create holiday meal baskets for families in need.

📦 Collection Dates: November 1-11
Students can drop off items from the flyer in the atrium each morning during arrival beginning next week.

🎁 Coming Soon: Holiday Giving Tree
We'll also be setting up a Holiday Giving Tree in the front office, where families can "adopt" a Raven family by purchasing a holiday gift for a student in need.

Thank you for helping us make sure every member of our Raven family feels supported this holiday season. Be sure to watch upcoming newsletters for more details and ways to help!

We are thrilled to launch this year’s National PTA Reflections program at Rushe! This year’s theme, “What My Culture Means to Me,” invites students to explore and celebrate their heritage, family customs, and personal identities through creative expression.

Students can submit original work in six categories: Visual Arts, Photography, Literature, Music Composition, Dance Choreography, and Film Production.

Every student who participates will receive a special medal and be invited to our PTSA awards ceremony. The first 10 submissions will receive a special prize!

Top submissions will advance to District Finals, with the opportunity to move on to State Finals and Nationals for a chance to win an $800 Young Artist Scholarship!

Entry forms and official guidelines are available by scanning the QR code on the Reflections flyer or visiting our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/RushePTSA

Submission deadline: Friday, November 13, 2026

For questions, please contact Kerri Nuccio, Rushe PTA Reflections Chair, at Rushe.PTSA.Secretary@gmail.com.

Please encourage your child to participate! We can’t wait to see how our Rushe Ravens share their culture, stories, and creativity.

If your family may need support for a holiday meal for Thanksgiving, or gifts for children and a meal for the winter holidays, please reach out to our school counselor, Denise Ferguson, dlwolfe@pasco.k12.fl.us.

CSRMS like many Pasco County Schools has an ABC (Assist, Believe & Care) program. In Pasco County Schools, this is a district initiative that provides limited, confidential assistance to students and families experiencing financial hardship or crisis.

The program relies on voluntary donations from school staff, families, local businesses, community groups, and annual drives by local county organizations. Once we know what the need is at Rushe, we will be seeking support from the community to provide holiday assistance to some Rushe families experiencing hardship.

Ravens are ready to take flight! On November 18, Charles S. Rushe Middle School will participate in the Great American Teach-In, and we're inviting members of our community to help inspire our students. Share your career journey, life experiences, talents, or expertise as we connect classroom learning to real-world opportunities. Every presentation helps our students spread their wings and explore new possibilities.

Sign up: https://csrms.pasco.k12.fl.us/school-news/great-american-teach-in-2026

Early Voting as opened and Election Day is coming up.

The renewal of Pasco County Schools' Salary Referendum is on the ballot in November. To learn how the referendum has impacted our schools, please visit Pasco Schools' Referendum Renewal.

• Jessica Maus- Principal-

• Dr. Eshonda Swackard- Assistant Principal- eswackar@pasco.k12.fl.us
• Edward Doychak- Assistant Principal- edoychak@pasco.k12.fl.us