Cougar Connect

Dear Kennedy Community,

Thank you for your support during my recent medical leave. I’m glad to be back and getting back into the rhythm of school life. I will spend the next day responding to emails, so please be patient with me.

I appreciate the leadership team, staff, and the entire community for keeping things steady in my absence. I’m looking forward to the work ahead.

This week, our students will perform in our annual Kennedy musical. There will be four performances, and I hope you are able to make it to at least one performance. Tickets can be purchased here.

Updates to the March Calendar

• Trimester 2 Honor Breakfast is postponed

• March School Site Council is cancelled

i-Ready Testing Continues

• Students will finish i-Ready math testing this week.

• Please make sure your students are present at school with a fully charged Chromebook.

Submit 8th-grade Baby Photos

If you would like to share your 8th-grade student's baby photo for this year's yearbook, please submit the photo using this link by Monday, March 31. Please include clear photos that include a close-up photo of the 8th-grade student. Please do not include any other people in the photo. This is only for Kennedy 8th-grade students. We are working to get our yearbook submitted. Late photos will not be accepted. Please scroll down to find the link to purchase a Kennedy yearbook.

Be Here, Be Amazing!

In addition to continuing to improve in English and math, attendance is also an area of focus for Kennedy. We aim to decrease chronic absenteeism and increase student attendance (95% daily attendance or higher). The first step is to ensure all students and families know the importance of attendance and why school attendance matters.

• Please schedule vacations during scheduled school breaks.

• Schedule medical appointments after school.

• Reach out to the Kennedy administration if students do not want to attend school due to emotional factors.

• Notify our attendance clerk about absences.

• When absent, students are still responsible for missed assignments and work. We understand that students at the elementary school level may not have to make up for work when absent. At the middle school level, students must connect with each of their teachers upon their return to get missed assignments. Those assignments must be finished and submitted by the required deadlines.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Leonardo

Kennedy's second annual career day will be held on Friday, April 4. We are seeking guest speakers and volunteers for the day. Please fill out this form to be a Career Day Speaker. Please email Cynthia Cardona to volunteer: ccardona@rcsdk8.net.

Hello, Kennedy Community!

Next PTO Meeting

The March PTO meeting has been rescheduled. Everyone is invited to join us on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:00PM in Room 101 and also on Zoom. https://zoom.us/j/93119040816?pwd=aq7QW86bXugaq08Dswoavf3wTxcd0M.1

Meeting ID: 931 1904 0816; Passcode: Kennedy

We’ll hear updates about our electives and events, review fundraising efforts and the budget, plan for celebrating our two new school murals and discuss ways for parents to be involved!

Remember that your voice matters and your support makes all the difference for the students and staff.

Are you looking for ways to volunteer for our school? This link shows you ALL of the available opportunities throughout the entire year: Volunteer Needs.

Remember that our Direct Drive is going on and our students depend on our community’s financial help to make their middle school experience the best it can be! We suggest a $500 donation per family. Payments can be made manageable by choosing to donate $50 a month throughout the school year! Click here to donate: PTO Direct Drive

Kind regards,

Jess Bryski

KMS PTO President

We are working hard to find sponsors for the May 9th Color Run! The sponsorship would cover the cost of the event so that any money earned would go directly to our students! Thank you to the following sponsors so far:

Primary Sponsors

Rim Orthodontics

Biohackr Health

Secondary Sponsors

Allison Fujimoto Real Estate Agent

Dehoff's Key Market

Mountain Mikes

If your company or a company you know well would like to be a secondary sponsor ($300), this is a tax-deductible donation! Feel free to reach out to Melinda Moye (melindakayemoye@gmail.com) or Krista Cuschieri (kcuschieri54@gmail.com) for more information!

The Kennedy Office is open Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Liz Avalos, Office Manager: lmavalos@rcsdk8.net

Maritza Gutierrez, Office Assistant (student records, medical notices): mggutierrez@rcsdk8.net

Jessica Perez, Office Assistant (attendance, independent study): jpperez@rcsdk8.net

MARCH

• Musical Tech Week Mar. 22-28 MIT Auditorium
• Kennedy Musical Mar. 28-30 MIT Auditorium

Please click here to view our Calendar of Events. Events are subject to change. Please read the Cougar Connect newsletter for changes.

8th-graders attended an assembly on Monday, November 25th. We discussed behavior and academic expectations for the remainder of the school year. Students were given a letter and agreement form. The letter and agreement form must be reviewed and signed by a parent, guardian, or caregiver. The form should be turned into homeroom teachers by Thursday, December 5.

8th-grade Letter

Kennedy uses Treering for our yearbooks. Visit www.treering.com/validate to order your student their yearbook. Yearbooks are $38.29; they will be distributed in June to students.

Kennedy's school passcode is 1015926081674110.

Below are some updates from our 7th-grade Grand Canyon field trip team.

• Reservations for Havasu Falls have been made! We can now move forward with this year's trip!
• We will collect the second payment for the trip from February 14-28, 2025, or sooner if you prefer. Families that are signed up will receive a text message from Kennedy by Wednesday, February 5.
• Mandatory Practice Hike: Saturday, March 1st from 8:00-11:30 AM. Students will meet at the Kennedy gym and hike up to Cañada College and back to Kennedy.
• Mandatory Parent and Student Meeting: Tuesday, March 4th at 6:30 PM in the Kennedy gym.
• THERE ARE STILL OPEN SPOTS! If you missed sign ups for the trip in August and are interested in participating you can still sign up. Email Maestro Alfredo if you are interested.

• We are accepting donations for students that will need gear for this year's trip. Click HERE for more information on how to donate.

• Please email Maestro Alfredo Oropeza (aoropeza@rcsdk8.net) if you have any questions.

• Intramurals Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays at lunch
• Wellness Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Mondays Room 207
• Anime Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Mondays Room 314
  
• Photojournalism Club Mondays Room 532
• Calligraphy/Cursive Writing Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Mondays Room 318

• 6th-Grade Lunch Bunch 6th Grade Lunch Tuesdays and Fridays Room 207
• Chess Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 535
• Video Game Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 314
  
• GSA Skittles 7/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 315
  
• Art Club 6th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 104
• Art Club 7th/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 526
• Badminton Club 7th/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Gym
• 7/8th-Grade Lunch Bunch Wednesdays Room 207

• Hispanic/Latine Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Wednesdays Room 530

• Book Club in the Kennedy Library Dates/Times TBD
  
• Board Game Club Thursdays in the Kennedy Library
• Origami Club Thursdays 6th Grade lunch in B-8
• Video Game Club 6th Grade Lunch Thursdays Room 102
• Environmental Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Thursdays Room 535

• VinylHeadz (Music Discussion) 7/8th Grade Lunch Fridays Room 528

We encourage every Kennedy student to join and participate in at least one club this school year. Clubs are a great way to make connections, make friends, and create a joyful school environment. Clubs are created by students for students. Students need to find a teacher to advise their club. Clubs generally meet once a week. Students need to listen to the morning announcements for updates.

Students can get help with homework and assignments on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays after school in the Kennedy Library from 3:15-4:15 p.m. If students are enrolled in the Boys and Girls Club after school program, they need to sign in first.

Students must be actively working on assignments. Students should not come to Homework Help to hang out or be off task.

We look forward to helping students succeed!

Your students should have homework Monday through Friday. Our English language arts and math teachers will assign homework nightly. Here are the general homework guidelines for each grade level:

6th Grade: 30-45 minutes

7th Grade: 45-60 minutes

8th Grade: 60-75 minutes

These times may vary depending on the assignments and projects, but students should have some math or reading assignment each night. If your student says they do not have homework, please make sure they show you their assignments in Google Classroom. You can also check PowerSchool for grades. If your student says they finished their assignments at school, make them show you their finished work.

If students are finished with their assignments, they can still:

1. Read their independent reading books.

2. Practice reading or math i-Ready or Khan Academy lessons.

3. Review notes from classes to make sure they understand their lessons.

4. Create flashcards for key vocabulary terms and review them.

5. Clean out or organize their backpacks, binders, and folders.

In order to make our handbook for students and families more accessible, we have digitized it. Please know that the information in the handbook will be continually updated to ensure families are informed.

Click to view and save the Kennedy Student & Family Handbook.

We appreciate you thinking of our teachers.

Kennedy's Amazon Wishlist

With a commitment to excellence, Kennedy Middle School engages, encourages, and empowers students in challenging and creative learning opportunities while preparing them for their futures in high school and beyond.

Website: https://www.rcsdk8.net/kennedy
Location: 2521 Goodwin Avenue, Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone: 650.482.2409
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennedymiddleschool