Kennedy Cougars

This week there was a BUZZ in all corners of the building. Students were working on STEM design challenges, playing cooperative games out on the turf field, socializing outside in the gorgeous weather during Laps at Lunch (big shout out to our parent volunteers), and learning about being members of a community in grade 7 social studies. I heard review of summer reading going on in grade 6, 7, and 8, our first week of clubs started, and our very first ROAR awards went out to last week's winners. WHAT A WEEK!!! Thank you to all of the club advisors who have stepped forward to allow our students a place to explore new activities, new friendships, and new spaces. We are VERY grateful for all that you do to help our students feel connected to our school.

I started meeting with students for lunch dates this week so I can begin to learn about our school from the STUDENT perspective. As always, I am impressed with their ability to articulate perfectly what they think is going well at our school and areas they think could use a little more attention. At the end of each meeting, I shared with students that I am looking for a hashtag that speaks to who we are as a school and how we can brand ourselves to the world. I received suggestions like #weR1 , #cougarpride, #safecommunity , #newschoolnewyou and many more. I am inviting ANYONE in our community who has an idea to PLEASE submit it on this google form. We need to keep the ideas coming.

Although the students have been doing a nice job in classes, the cafeteria, the hallways, and at Laps, they are struggling to follow behavior expectations on the buses to and from school. The school bus is an extension of the school day and the behavior expectations were explained during our beginning of the year assemblies with each grade. These expectations are needed to provide a safe transportation experience for each student. If your child rides the bus, please take the time to go over the behavior expectations on the bus. These expectations can be found in the student handbook on pages 39 & 40.

A quick reminder that picture day is coming! Kennedy middle school is scheduled for pictures this year on October 20th. We will give more details as the event gets closer.

I hope everyone enjoys this amazing weather.

Warm regards,

Jodie Cohen, Principal

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

1 - Paper online tutoring information for families

Here are a few ways Paper can support you and your students this school year:

• Unlimited 24/7/365 tutoring support — sessions can run for as long as students need!

• Revisions for any typed writing assignments in 24 hours or less!

• Tutoring and writing support in 4 different languages — English, Spanish, French and Mandarin.

To learn more about Paper visit The parent & guardian’s guide to implementing Paper at home. Here you will be able to register for an upcoming parent & guardian info session, available in both English and Spanish, and find resources on how to get started with using Paper with your students right away! If you’d like to speak to a member of the Paper team directly, you can reach them at parents@paper.co.

2 - After school clubs UPDATE

Although the list of clubs is still in flux, it is growing as we finalize the last clubs on our after school schedule. Please check out our after school club list on the Kennedy Middle School Website to see all of the fun activities we have at Kennedy for your students. Clubs in yellow are still being determined/finalized.

3 - Kennedy Middle School #HASHTAG submission form

Kennedy is looking for that PERFECT hashtag that says who we are and will help us brand our school going forward on all our platforms. If you have a suggestion, please fill out this form to submit your suggestion. Directions on how to submit are on the form. For those students and staff who have already submitted suggestions - THANK YOU! They are awesome!!! Let's keep the suggestions coming in. Anyone in our community may submit - parents, caregivers, students, teachers, staff members, EVERYONE!!! Give it go and submit TODAY!

4 - UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS for your calendar

• Wednesday, September 21: Early Release, Dismissal at 11:30 am
• Monday, September 26: No School- Rosh Hashanah
• Thursday, September 29: Grade 5 & 6 Open House (6:30 - 8:00pm)
• Wednesday, October 5: No School, Yom Kippur
• Thursday, October 6: Grade 7 & 8 Open House (6:30 - 8:00pm)
• Tuesday, October 20: Picture Day

5 - One more spot for School Council at Kennedy

If you are interested in joining Kennedy School Council, we have ONE MORE spot open. Our meetings are held once per month before school in person or, on occasion, virtually. We are a great group of committed educators, caregivers and students doing great work for our school. Please email jcohen@natickps.org if interested. More than two interested community members will result in an election run by our Kennedy PTO. Here is a quick document outlining the school council role at schools and the statement of purpose.

6 - Staff member of the week - Joyce MacGregor, Administrative Assistant

Many of you already know or have spoken with Joyce MacGregor at some point in your time at Kennedy Middle School. Joyce has been working at Kennedy Middle School for 20 years. When she started, they were still using a typewriter and carbon paper in the front office! Joyce truly loves middle school children and all that age brings. Anyone who knows her will tell you that she is an extended mother to many students (and staff).

Something you may not know about Joyce is that she graduated from Johnson and Wales Culinary school and is a fabulous chef. Anyone who is lucky enough to grab a bite of literally anything Joyce makes for the office knows this first hand. I can personally speak for her banana, chocolate chip bread...it is out of this world!!

Joyce grew up in Natick and went to Wilson. She met her husband (picture below) at Natick High School. Nantucket is her happy place (also seen in the picture below) and she visits the island a few times a year. Reading is her constant pastime and time travel is her constant obsession. Books are a time machine for her. Joyce's favorite author is Diana Gabaldon. Her greatest joy in her life is her 3 year old Granddaughter, Ava. Joyce's daily mantra: Everyone has a story so don't assume you know just by what you see and just be kind. I couldn't agree more.

Thank you for all you do, Joyce. Kennedy would be LOST without you!!

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. They are working diligently to bring great activities to our school community. Please check out their website for more information.

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