Kennedy Cougars

Dear Kennedy families and caregivers,

The last couple of weeks at Kennedy have been fabulous. School has been buzzing during the day and the afternoon clubs have been in full swing. The Kennedy athletic program is in full swing, too. See the athletic update below for this week's results.

A quick reminder about the late bus protocol for cars. When students are loading the late buses in the back, cars must not pass when the sign and signals are flashing. Please help us keep our students safe and wait until after the buses leave to pull up to the loading area. Thank you for your help.

Picture Retake Day will be Tuesday, 10/29. All retakes will take place in the mornings that day.

Ordering School Pictures:

It's not too late to order school pictures. Please visit this LINK for information on how to order from Coffee Pond Photography.

What's new from Spark Kindness:

Managing Anxiety in Our Children (And Ourselves) with Lynn Lyons, LICSW

Tuesday, October 8th at 7pm at Natick High School Auditorium

A FREE community event for parents, caregivers, educators, and community members supporting children of all ages. News of the mental health crisis in young people is overwhelming. How can we help our children manage anxiety without being swept up by fear and confusion ourselves? In this program, national expert Lynn Lyons will offer practical strategies to reduce anxiety and promote resilience in children, as well as their caregivers. Topics will include:

• How to teach young people to manage emotions in an effective way

• Strategies for helping a child suffering from anxiety-related matters including school refusal

• How to help children cope with social pressures, including social media and screens

• Resources available for support

Co-sponsored by The Resilience Project.

Registration Link: https://sparkmanaginganxiety.eventbrite.com

Clubs information:

For the full list of clubs and the days they will be held, please check out the link HERE.

New Bus Seating and Behavior Expectations:

Please be advised that starting Monday 09/30 all students are expected to sit by their grade levels on the bus. Students should sit with the lowest grade group sitting towards the front of the bus with the highest grades sitting at the rear of the bus. Any student who has inappropriate bus behavior will be asked to move up front and be written up by their driver.

Please remind your students about the Bus Expectations as well as a reminder that there are cameras on all buses. Cameras will be viewed by the Transportation Department and Principals after we receive a report or observation of inappropriate bus behaviors. At that time, you will receive a call from your student's school and a copy of your student's conduct report.

Late bus information:

The late bus route information can be found HERE. Please note that the buses leave Kennedy's campus between 3:30 and 3:45. Students could get home as late as 4:30 depending on the route and stop.

Open House/Curriculum Nights:

Open house for grades 5 & 6 was held this past Wednesday with a huge turnout. Thank you to everyone who attended and for your support.

• Grades 7 & 8: Tuesday, October 1st, 6:00 - 8:00pm

This event will start with administration in the auditorium. We are looking forward to seeing you all there!

Vision Screening information

Vision screenings begin September 23rd for all 5th grade students. Please click on the LINK to see information from the Kennedy Clinic.

Kennedy Fall Athletics Update:

There's been some great sports going on here at Kennedy. Check out the update below:

Field Hockey

Kennedy tied Wilson 0-0

Kennedy lost to Needham 2-0

Girls Volleyball

Kennedy tied Wilson 1-1

Kennedy lost to Weymouth 2-1

Cross Country

Kennedy Boys beat Wilson 45-55

Kennedy Boys lost to Needham 32-45

Kennedy Girls lost to Wilson 36-79

Kennedy Girls lost to Needham 34-79

Go Cougars!

Laps at Lunch information:

Please consider volunteering at Laps at Lunch. We are looking for help during all 4 lunches, grades 5 - 8. Please follow this LINK for information on how to volunteer. Thank you VERY MUCH for your consideration. We could not do this without our parent/caregiver volunteers.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Regards,

Jodie Cohen

Proud Principal of Kennedy

“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."

― Maya Angelou

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

website - kennedy.natickps.org

1 - Kennedy Middle School Student Handbook

Here is a link to our newly updated Kennedy Student Handbook. Please take some time to review this handbook with your students. It is chock full of helpful information about our school policies and procedures for students and caregivers.

2 - UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS for your calendar:

• Tues, October 1st, 6:00 - 8:00pm - Grades 7 & 8 Open House
• Thur, October 3rd - No school - Rosh Hashanah holiday
• Mon, October 7th - Faculty Meeting - No after school activities
• Mon, October 14th - No school - Indigenous People's Day holiday
• Wed, October 23rd - Professional Development Half Day - school ends at 11:30, bagged lunches available.

3 - Directions to view grade reports and ROSPs:

Below are the links to directions to access grade reports and ROSPs in PowerSchool.

Viewing Standards-Based Grades in Parent Portal for MS Grade 5

Viewing Student Grades in the PowerSchool Public Portal - grades 6-12

For your convenience, here is a link to the Kennedy Trimester Schedule 2023 - 2024

4 - Drop off and pick up important reminders:

I want to share an important reminder of the rules for driving around the Kennedy Middle School property. These driving regulations are in place to provide a safe environment for all our students as they arrive and leave school. Please follow these guidelines when dropping off or picking up at school:

• ALL drop off during the morning before school and ALL pick up in the afternoon after school will be done around the back of the school at the cafeteria entrance. Please wait in line and only pass other vehicles when a faculty member signals that it is safe to do so.
• Parents/caregivers MUST NOT drop off children in the front parking lot at the beginning of the day. This significantly prohibits faculty the ability to park quickly and enter the building to be ready for your children each day.
• Parents/caregivers MUST NOT wait for their children in the front faculty parking lot next to the buses at end of day dismissal. We understand that everyone is in a rush and it is hard to wait in the pick up line, but ALL PICK UP after school is done IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.
• When picking students up following after school activities (clubs, extra help from teachers, music lessons, etc.), please be aware that the late buses also board students in the back of the building. It is imperative that cars DO NOT PASS while students are boarding the late buses. This is a huge safety concern. Because most teachers are helping students after school, we do not have many staff available outside during the boarding process to ensure the rules are being followed. We are counting on you to help with this process. If you are in the line after the buses start boarding you MUST wait until the students are done boarding (usually takes at most 5 minutes) and leave the property before driving around any buses.

The safety of our Kennedy students is our first priority. By following these simple rules, you will help us keep our student and staff community safe while they are traveling to and from school every day. Thank you for adhering to these guidelines.

5 - Dismissal from School Information:

Here is a link to the dismissal policy found on our Kennedy website. Please read for a refresher of the guidelines.

Paper is an online, on-demand tutoring service that provides students with around the clock academic support. Visit their FAQ site for more info: https://paper.co/faqs. All students using the Paper online tutoring program must login via Classlink https://launchpad.classlink.com/natickps.

Our Kennedy Middle School PTO works hard behind the scenes to support our school in a variety of ways. Check out their website for more information about all PTO sponsored events.

Natick Public Schools does not discriminate in employment nor its educational programs, services, and activities based on race, creed, color, age, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, physical and intellectual differences, immigration status, homeless status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Please be aware all electronic communication to and from Natick Public Schools is public record and subject to public disclosure per Massachusetts General Law Chapter 66, Section 10.

• Title I: Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• MGL, Ch.76, Section 5: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5