Kennedy Cougars

Dear Kennedy families and caregivers,

It's hard to imagine that we are at the last day of the school year, but here we are! It has been a truly wonderful school year. I hope everyone has a fun, relaxing summer break and we look forward to seeing you next school year!

Overdue Library Books:

Miss Murphy is still waiting for almost 300 books to make their way back to the library!

Please check in with your students about what they might still have checked out.

Backpacks (current and old), laptop cases, bookshelves at home, and the car seem to be popular hiding spaces!

Please reach out to sarmurphy@natickps.org if you have questions about your student's account.

Thank you!

Kennedy Fall Athletics 2024 Registration is now open! Register below!

Kennedy Fall 2024 Athletic Offerings:

• Boys Cross Country (Grades 6th, 7th & 8th)
• Girls Cross Country (Grades 6th, 7th & 8th)
• Girls Volleyball (Grades 7th & 8th)
• Intramural Girls Volleyball (Grades 7th & 8th)
• Field Hockey (Grades 7th & 8th)
• Intramural Field Hockey (Grades 7th & 8th)

Kennedy Fall Athletics Registration Instructions

Registration for Fall Sports is now open on ArbiterSports.com. The following will need to be completed in order to participate:

1. Register student-athlete on ArbiterSports.com. Choose "Natick Public School Athletic" and the correct Program: Kennedy (6th Grade Registration Only) Fall 2024 Registration (Boys Cross-Country & Girls Cross-Country); Kennedy (7th & 8th Grade Registration Only) Fall 2024 Registration (Girls Volleyball, Girls Intramural Volleyball, Field Hockey, Intramural Field Hockey, Boys Cross-Country & Girls Cross-Country).
2. Upload your child's medical physical on Arbiter Sports. The medical physical date must be within 13 months of the start of the season (after 8/10/2023 for Boys Cross-Country, Girls Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Intramural Field Hockey, Girls Volleyball & Intramural Girls Volleyball). If you need a new physical and cannot get an appointment with your child's physician, you may want to consider going to an Urgent Care or Minute Clinic or have your doctor write a note stating the date of your child's upcoming physical and that your child is "healthy and able to participate in sports."
3. The preferred payment method for Athletics at Natick is online at UniPay (Natick Public Schools - Kennedy). The athletic fee is $225*. You can also pay by check if you prefer with the check made out to "NHS Athletics" and left at Kennedy's office. There is no athletic fee for Intramural Teams.
4. 7th & 8th grade student-athletes will need to complete two free courses (NFHS Concussion for Students & Natick Student-Athlete Course) 1X a school year (courses completed after 5/1/2024 are acceptable). 5th & 6th grade student-athletes will need to complete the NFHS Concussion for Students course 1X a calendar year (courses completed after 5/1/2024 are acceptable). These are required by MIAA schools and NPS student-athletes at the MS & HS levels. After completing a course, the student-athlete will earn a "completion course certificate." This should be uploaded in the appropriate and designated area during registration on Arbiter Sports. The courses are linked in the registration on Arbiter Sports but here are the links for the courses also: NFHS Concussion for Students & Natick Student-Athlete Course. Here is a link for instructions on signing into the Natick Student-Athlete Course. FYI...after visiting the page for the Concussion Course for Students course you will need to order the free course. You will also need to create an NFHS account & Arxed Online (under student-athletes name) if you don't already have one setup.

*The deadline to complete registration for Boys Cross-Country, Girls Cross-Country, Field Hockey, & Girls Volleyball is 9/8/2024. Any registrations after 9/8/2024 will have a $25 late fee. Student-athletes cannot participate in fall athletics until this registration process is completed!

Email Mr. Lyth with any questions, dlyth@natickps.org or visit the Kennedy Athletics Website.

Bus Registration '24-'25 Late Fee Notice

Please note that if you register your student after Sunday, June 30, 2024, you will pay a late fee regardless of whether or not your student would receive free transportation. There will be no exceptions. Students who have been registered but have not completed payment (if applicable) will not be assigned to buses until payment is made in full. If payment is not made in full by June 30th, you will be responsible for the bus pass fee plus the late fee.

If you have not already registered, please register ASAP. Go to the following link for registration & payments: NPS Transportation/Bus Registration.

Late fee schedule

Registered by 6/30: NO LATE FEE

Registered from 7/01-7/31: LATE FEE IS $100 per family*

Registered after 7/31: LATE FEE IS $125 per family*

*An assessed late fee and second bus pass fees will not be included when determining the family cap of $400. The $400 family cap is for transportation fees only.

Email the Transportation Department with any questions.

From our Kennedy Nurses:

For Parents/Caregivers of Current KMS 6th Grade Students:

Natick Public Schools requires a physical exam for all students, before entering 7th grade. The physical exam must be AFTER January 1, 2023, and be signed/dated by a licensed healthcare provider in order to be compliant with the state regulation.

Please submit your student’s physical exam form to the Kennedy Middle School nurses at kennedynurses@natickps.org no later than Friday, June 14, 2024. If you are unable to meet this requirement for any reason, please contact your KMS nurses for assistance.

*Please note that uploading physicals into Family ID for sports does not fulfill this requirement*

Natick Youth Field Hockey:

Natick is getting youth field hockey this fall! There will be two teams, grades 5/6 and 7/8. One practice a week and one game on Saturdays. No experience required. This is different from the middle school teams. League begins early September. Come join us to learn and improve your field hockey skills. Email Ms. Pini (mpini@natickps.org) with any questions!

Registration link: https://register.communitypass.net/Natick

Natick Summer Programs Are Back! Register Now:
Students will enjoy week-long courses for enrichment, exploration, and fun–right here in Natick! The Summer Enrichment and Summer Scholars programs will allow your children to explore their interests and help prevent summer slide. Pre-approved students are welcomed into the Extended School Year (ESY) program and the High School Credit Recovery Program. Our Strength and Conditioning Program provides dynamic exercises and drills from some of the best coaches in the area.

Registration through Active.com is open now. Our popular Summer Enrichment program courses include Cooking, Arts and Crafts, Pondology, Chemistry, Sports, and much more. Students from rising Kindergarteners up through rising 8th graders are grouped by grade level.

NEW THIS YEAR: All participants in Summer Enrichment and Summer Scholars will receive a complete schedule of classes (subject to availability) running from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. every day. Join us this summer! Access our dedicated website for more information.

Laps at Lunch information:

Please consider volunteering at Laps at Lunch. We are looking for help during all 4 lunches, grades 5 - 8. Please sign up for the same weekly time slot if that works for you, or for individual times slots if that’s better. We are flexible and will train any volunteers on how to help with laps. The link is below: Please sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080448ABAD2EAAFF2-kennedy

Natick High School Fall Athletics Information:

Fall registration opens on May 27th, 2024 @ 12pm & closes on August 6th, 2024.

Registration closes and payment is due August 6th by 12pm.

A late charge of $25 will be added after 12pm on August 6th, 2024.

There are 2 courses to take. (Arxed Natick Student-Athletic course & Concussion for Students) We have updated the courses to make them more time efficient and effective. By State Mandate this course has to be done each academic year. This is only valid for the school year 2024-2025 when completed after May 2024. All of the courses are embedded in the registration to make it easier to find them and to upload the certificates of completion.

Please make sure your physical is within the last 13 months and your required courses have been completed and uploaded so you will be approved to start the season!

Registration link:

https://students.arbitersports.com/natick-public-school-athletics/fall-2024-high-school-registration

All athletes will need to complete the required concussion course

https://nfhslearn.com/courses/concussion-for-students

Athletes will be required to complete the Arxed student course

https://studentathlete.arxed.com/enroll/2631694?price_id=3447778

Sports offered for the Fall season are:

Football, Cheerleading, Boys & Girls Cross Country,

Field Hockey, Golf, Boys & Girls Soccer, Girls Swimming, Girls Volleyball

Unified Basketball will have a separate registration

Football start date is August 16th.

All other Fall sports start date is August 19th.

Unified Basketball Start date is September 9th

Unified Basketball registration link:

https://students.arbitersports.com/natick-public-school-athletics/unified-basketball-2023-boys-girls-athletes-partners-grades-10-12

Only Unified Athletes and 10th - 12th grade Unified Partners can register.

I hope everyone has a relaxing summer. See you in the Fall!

Jodie Cohen

Proud Principal of Kennedy

"Find JOY in the JOURNEY."

~ unknown artist

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

website - kennedy.natickps.org

Students will enjoy week-long courses for enrichment, exploration, and fun–right here in Natick! The Summer Enrichment and Summer Scholars programs will allow your children to explore their interests and help prevent summer slide. Pre-approved students are welcomed into the Extended School Year (ESY) program and the High School Credit Recovery Program. Our Strength and Conditioning Program provides dynamic exercises and drills from some of the best coaches in the area.

Registration through Active.com is open now. Our popular Summer Enrichment program courses include Cooking, Arts and Crafts, Pondology, Chemistry, Sports, and much more. Students from rising Kindergarteners up through rising 8th graders are grouped by grade level.

NEW THIS YEAR: All participants in Summer Enrichment and Summer Scholars will receive a complete schedule of classes (subject to availability) running from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. every day. Join us this summer! Access our dedicated website for more information.

Looking for financial assistance this summer? Please complete this form prior to registering to get the process started: 2024 Summer Programs Assistance. Thank you!

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 - 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

3 - 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.

4 - 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.

5 - UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS for your calendar

• Fri, Jun 14 - Last day of school, 1/2 day, dismissal at 11:30am

Natick Public Schools is excited to announce our partnership with Paper for on-demand tutoring for NHS students. Paper is a secure, online tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether they’re stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions to their essays, there will always be experts available online to assist students in over 200 subjects and more than 4 languages.

Paper tutors have been specially trained to conduct expert, academic support in a secure, chat-based platform. With a commitment to helping students learn, they’ll never give students answers, but rather interact with them in an encouraging tone to lead them forward.

This is a free service that we’re providing, so students are encouraged to use it as much as they need, whenever they need. Our teachers also have accounts and will be able to review all student activity to see what they’re working on and provide more targeted instruction as needed.

If you’d like to learn more about Paper you can sign up for a Paper hosted Parent Info Session, available in both English and Spanish.

To see Paper and the help it offers firsthand, we encourage you to login with your students. To get started, simply visit PAPER’s student login page, type your school’s name, and log in via Google using your school credentials.

We’re thrilled to offer our students the unlimited, 24/7 support that Paper provides and we can’t wait to see what we’re able to accomplish together.

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