Kennedy Cougars

Dear Kennedy families and caregivers,

There has been a whole lot of awesome going on here at Kennedy. KMS Track and Field has started and the students are excited to run and jump their way through spring into summer! I have attached a couple of pics from Coach Siegfried below. Stay tuned for more to come in future newsletters.

Ms. Kassap, one of Kennedy's beloved art teachers, was the recipient of an amazing grant through the NEF to work with a visiting Natick artist, Audrey Markoff. Check out the letter Ms. Kassap wrote to the grade 5 families below and the pictures of the students beginning the mural below. I had the pleasure of watching the artwork being created by the students and it was truly inspirational. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Hello Fifth grade parents and caregivers,

My name is Beth Kassap and I am one of the art teachers at Kennedy.

I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you! I have been awarded a grant through the NEF to have a local mosaic artist, Audrey Markoff create an artwork with our students. This week, we have the pleasure of welcoming Ms Markoff to collaborate with our grade 5 students on creating a beautiful mural that will be hung in the main office of our school building in September.This collaborative project aims to not only bring a beautiful permanent piece of artwork to our school but also to foster a sense of unity and pride within our student body. The mural will be a vibrant and eye-catching addition to our school, showcasing the craftsmanship of our young artists.Through this hands-on experience, our students will have the opportunity to create a piece of the mosaic and participate in valuable teamwork skills, communication, and creative problem-solving. Each student's contribution will be an integral part of the final masterpiece, making this project truly special and meaningful. I encourage you to ask your child about their involvement in this exciting project next week and to join us in celebrating their creativity and hard work. Together, we are creating something beautiful that will leave a lasting impact on our school community.Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to sharing the finished mural with you soon!

Message from the 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*

Calling all Overdue Library Books!

The KMS library has over 700 books that are currently overdue!

They often end up in cars, old backpacks, or on bookshelves at home.

Students know how to check their own Destiny accounts to see what they still owe.

Any help you can offer in facilitating their swift return would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

~ Miss Murphy

8th Grade End of Year Activities

Now that the final day of school has been announced, June 14th (early release day), our 8th grade activity schedule has been finalized. Please see the dates and times below. More details to follow.

• 6/6 - 8th grade Dance (more details to follow soon)
• 6/11 - Cole Fields (Rain Date: 6/12)
• 6/13 - Moving On Ceremony, 8:00am - 9:30am
• Teams Discover (Dion, Alagappan, Raider, Czymbor, Balderson) and Endeavor (Miller, Prince, Siegfried)
• Team Inspire (Gallivan, Rogers, Regan, Forest, Melito) - 8:45am

May is Mental Health Awareness Month!

To raise awareness, the Town of Natick is sponsoring various events, resources, and collaborations around Natick. All events are FREE & open to the public (some require registration). Scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/mentalhealth_natick for more event information. Follow @NatickSupportsMentalHealth on Facebook to stay updated on mental health resources and events all year round!

MCAS schedule and details:

MCAS is going well here at Kennedy. If you have questions about the schedule you can view the link to the 2024 MCAS schedule. If your child misses a day of testing, they will be given the opportunity to make it up. Please check the calendar link above for all dates and make up dates.

A note from Natick High School Principal, Josepha Blocker:

Info from 8th Grade Step Up Night

We loved seeing so many of our rising 9th graders last week at Step Up Night. If you were unable to join us or want to review anything we discussed, please view the video and slides from the auditorium session.

Please don't forget to sign your student up for 9th grade student orientation, which will be on Tuesday, August 20th from 10:30 am - 2:35 pm at the high school. You can access the RSVP form at the link above or using the QR code below (see picture after the written section).

Upcoming Kennedy Career Day!

Are you passionate about your profession and eager to inspire the next generation? We are looking for dynamic professionals to participate in our upcoming 7th and 8th Grade Career Day at Kennedy!

Join us at Kennedy on Wednesday May 15th from 10:00-11:00 am where you can share a 25-minute presentation on your journey, expertise, and insights with our students. Whether you're a scientist, artist, entrepreneur, or engineer, your unique perspective and experiences can make a lasting impact on our young minds.

Don't miss this opportunity to showcase your career and motivate students to explore the endless possibilities that await them. Please complete this form (Parent Career Day Link) if you are interested in being a part of our exciting event!

School Year 2024/2025
In the next month, we will begin our scheduling process for next school year. If there is information that you would like to share regarding your child's particular learning style, we ask you to put that in writing to us no later than April 19th. Email is fine: Please send to our secretary jmacgregor@natickps.org

8th to 9th Grade Transition Information:

8th Grade to 9th Grade Transition Events for The Class of 2028.

4th to 5th Grade Transition Information:

If you have children that will be a part of this transition, here is the full outline of events that you can expect throughout the spring. We can't wait to meet our new Kennedy Cougars!!

Upcoming events for rising 5th graders:

KMS guidance counselor, administrators, and two current 5th graders will meet with 4th grade students to discuss 5th grade at Kennedy and the upcoming Step Up Day. Students also get the opportunity to ask questions to the guidance counselor and middle school students.

Memorial: Monday, May 20th - 9:30

Johnson: Wednesday, May 22nd - 9:00

Brown: Thursday, May 23rd - 12:00

Incoming 5th grade Parent Night (parents/caregivers only)

Parents are invited to learn about a typical 5th grade day such as the cycle schedule, extracurricular activities & support services. This will be followed by a brief Q&A session with administration.

Tuesday, May 28th - 6:00pm - Kennedy Middle School Auditorium

KMS Step-Up Day

Incoming 5th grade students visit KMS for the morning. Students meet the teachers & tour the building.

Friday, June 7th

Find Your Way Day

All 5th grade students are welcome to bring their homeroom assignments (which they will receive in the mail in mid August) and spend some time finding their classrooms. KMS Peer Leaders will also be available for guidance and question & answers.

Late August - TBD *** Subject to change based on district scheduling ***

5th Grade Orientation

Early September - Students are oriented to middle school through discussions on safety, classroom expectations, organization of materials, etc. Students also participate in many team building activities.

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

I hope everyone has enjoyed the glorious weather this week. Summer will be here before we know it!

Jodie Cohen

Proud Principal of Kennedy

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”

~ Brene Brown

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

• Wed, May 15 - early release day, 11:30 dismissal - Faculty Professional Development Day

• Monday, May 27- Memorial Day - No school

• Friday, June 14 - Last Day of School - 11:30 dismissal

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