Cougar Connect

Dear Kennedy Community,

I hope you had a restful weekend. I feel like I still need one more day of relaxation before starting the week!

Here are important updates for the week:

Trimester Three Begins

Our last trimester of the school year begins today, Monday, March 11. If students didn't do well in trimester one or two, they have one more try to get it right this school year.

Report cards for trimester two will be mailed home on Friday, March 15th. However, you can view your student's progress by logging on to PowerSchool.

Our admin team will review 8th-grade students' grade point averages and reach out to families of students who do not have a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

We will also begin Missing Assignment Study Hall on Fridays after school beginning this Friday. If your student has any assignments that need to be completed, they will be required to stay after school on Fridays to make sure they finish their work. They will get support from our admin team.

We will notify families on Thursdays. If you are not receiving our text messages or emails, this means you have communications from RCSD blocked. Please contact our office staff to correct this.

Parent-Teacher Conferences March 18-22

We will have minimum days with 1:50 pm dismissal Monday, March 18 through Friday, March 22. During this week, teachers will meet with families of students who earned a D or an F in trimester two. Conference priority will be given to these students. Conferences will begin at 2:00 pm and end at 3:15 pm. Teachers will reach out to families directly by email or text message beginning this week to schedule conferences. Priority will be given to students who earned Ds or Fs. If you have concerns and would like to conference with a teacher, please email each teacher.

Lockdown Practice Drill Tuesday, March 19

Please be aware that Kennedy will have a practice lockdown drill on Tuesday, March 19 (next week). We have invited an officer from the Redwood City Police Department to give us feedback on our policies and procedures. We will remind students about this drill this week so that they will be aware of the drill next week.

For more information about the types of drills we practice with our students, please refer to San Mateo County Office of Education’s Big Five informational handouts by clicking here.

Principal's Coffee Thursday, March 7

Here are my slides from last week's Principal's Coffee meeting.

Message from the Boys and Girls Club

Student walkers will be released from the program at 5:45 PM instead of 4:45 PM. This will begin on Monday, March 11th, and continue until the end of the school year. If you have any questions, please reach out to our BGCP Office at: (650)804-9045. Your student’s safety is our highest priority. Thank you!

BGCP is recruiting 8th graders who have chosen Sequoia High School (or are undecided) to attend a field trip to visit Sequoia High School before the 2024-2025 school year begins. This trip will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with a March 20, 2024 sign-up deadline. 8th graders from Hoover, Garfield, and Kennedy will be transported from the Redwood City Boys & Girls Club to Sequoia and returned to the clubhouse. To attend, please complete the form by visiting https://foresthighschoolcenter.org/ and clicking the Sequoia High School Field Trip button. Permission slips can be picked up for the Kennedy Family Center.

i-Ready Reading Assessments

RCSD's i-Ready testing window continues this week. This is the third and final i-Ready diagnostic for the year.

This week's focus is the reading i-Ready for 6th and 7th grades.

Please encourage your students to try their best. The final diagnostic can be used for accelerated math placement for the next school year. We will also use this data to determine the types of enrichment and support we need for students for the next school year. We appreciate your support.

Spring Dance Tickets on Sale at Lunch

Our spring dance will be this Friday, March 15th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Students must have a 2.0 GPA and no behavior concerns to attend the dance. Food and beverages will be provided at the dance. Parents can view the Sign Up Genius to find out how to volunteer: click this link.

The dance is for all students in grades 6-8. The theme is March Madness. Tickets will be sold for $5 during lunchtime this week (Monday-Friday). Tickets will not be sold at the door. The dance is for Kennedy students only.

Students must leave the dance with a parent or guardian; we will not allow students to walk, bike, or scooter home.

We are looking forward to our spring dance!

Student Council & St. Patrick’s Day

Student Council is getting in the shamrock spirit for St. Patrick's Day. On Friday, March 16th, there will be a spirit day and fun activities. Wear green from your head to your toes while searching for 12 hidden lucky shamrock coins on campus. Turn those coins into Ms. Virnich in room 103 and you will be rewarded Cougar Cash. Sixth graders can participate in games during their lunch period and win prizes.

Yearbook Update

• Kennedy uses Treering to create and sell our yearbooks.

• Yearbooks can be purchased online by clicking this link.

• If you are asked for a school code, please use Kennedy's code: 1015926081674110.

• The yearbook price before taxes is $38.29.

• Yearbooks will ship to Kennedy. We will then distribute the yearbooks to students in late May or the first week of June.

• If you want to create a custom page for your student, custom pages are due by April 11, 2024. You can use this link to learn how to create a custom page.

8th-Grade Baby Photos

• We would like to include baby photos of our 8th-graders in the yearbook.

• Parents and guardians can upload baby photos directly to TreeRing following the instructions here.

• You can also send your photo via email to Mr. Apodaca: papodaca@rcsdk8.net.

• Baby photos should be of good quality (not blurry or out of focus).

• The photo should only feature the 8th-grade student.

• The student should be four years old or younger in the photo.

• The deadline for all 8th-grade baby photo submissions is Friday, March 29.

• The yearbook will only include 8th-grade baby photos.

Kennedy Attendance Wars

We still have Ms. Nolan, Ms. Xia, and Ms. Collins consistently in the lead. Our top six classes last week, with over 90% of 1st period students on time and attending every day were Ms. Nolan, Ms. Xia, Ms. Collins, Ms. Hernandez, Mr. Rosaros, and Ms. Le. Keep it up! Ten of our 1st-period classes improved their attendance last week. Great job Mr. Carrig, Mrs. Lapaglia, Ms. Nolan, Mr. Nwaohia, Maestro Alfredo, Ms. Pilkenton, Mr. Rosaros, Mrs. Shaffer, Ms. Strangman, and Ms. Virnich. For trimester three we need to see everyone step it up and come to school every day and on time. We only have three months left, which means only three chances to win donated Starbucks for your class and a $100 gift card for your teacher.

Link to standings

Tutoring and Academic Support Opportunities

Students can get drop-in math support on Mondays and Wednesdays with Ms. Le, Mrs. Figueroa, and Ms. Paz in room 533.

Students can reach out to individual teachers to schedule a time to meet during teacher office hours.

Students with IEPs and identified learning disabilities can get targeted intervention and support from College Advising Prep (CAP). Please reach out to Michelle Fryer Phan for additional information at mfryerphan@rcsdk8.net.

We also partner with Healthy Cities Tutoring. Students can get individual support from a volunteer once a week. Please contact our Kennedy Family Center for more information about Healthy Cities Tutoring. kennedyfc@rcsdk8.net.

Reminders for 8th-grade Families

• Please be reminded that your 8th-grade students were given a letter in November that explained Kennedy's expectations for students to participate in 8th-grade activities and the promotion ceremony. The letter was supposed to be read by students and their families. Then, a signed acknowledgment form was to be submitted by December 1. 8th-Grade Letter

• Our 8th-Grade Promotion Ceremony is Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at 6:00 pm on the Kennedy field.

• A cumulative GPA of 2.0 is required to participate in all 8th-grade activities and the ceremony. Please be sure to check your student's grades each week.

• Please refer to this newsletter with information from the 8th-grade information night.

• SUHSD Guidance Counselors are scheduled to review electives and other important information for SUHSD the week of March 18 during school hours. We will send out more specific information once we have it.

Student Clubs Meeting This Week

• Intramural Basketball continues this week on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.

• Math Homework Support after school on Mondays and Wednesdays in room 534

• Book Club after school on Monday in the library

• Writing Club during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 318

• 6th-Grade Gaming Club Monday at lunch in room 102

• 6th-Grade Student Council Reps Tuesday at lunch in room 103

• Makerspace and Robotics Club Tuesday during 6th-grade lunch in room 104

• Wellness Club Tuesday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 636

• 7th & 8th-Grade Lunch Bunch Wednesday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 636

• K-Pop Club Wednesday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 208

• Rock Band Club after school on Wednesday in room 314

• Chess Club Wednesday during 6th-grade lunch in the library

• 7th-Grade Executive Council Thursday at lunch in room 314

• Art Club Thursday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 527

• Jazz Club Thursday morning before school in room 312

• GSA Kennedy Skittles Thursday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 315

• GSA Kennedy Skittles Thursday during 6th-grade lunch in room 102

• Chess Club Thursday during 7th/8th grade lunch in the library

• K-Pop Club Thursday at 6th-grade lunch in room B-9

• 6th-Grade Lunch Bunch Friday during 6th-grade lunch in room B-6

• Environmental Club Friday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 535

• Anime Club Friday during 6th-grade lunch in room B-7

• Cooking Club Friday after school in room 107.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Leonardo