Dear Kennedy Community,
I hope you all had a wonderful week and weekend! Last week, we celebrated Lunar New Year at lunch, bringing our community together to honor this important tradition. It was a joy to see our students participate and enjoy the festivities. Thank you to our Mandarin Immersion students and their families for their support!
As we move through the trimester, I want to remind everyone of the importance of following our schoolwide expectations. Consistency helps create a positive and productive learning environment for all students. Your partnership in reinforcing these expectations at home is greatly appreciated. We want all Kennedy students to be respectful of themselves, respectful of others, and responsible for their actions. Kennedy Cougars show their PAWS!
Finally, a quick reminder that mid-winter break is February 17-21. We hope everyone enjoys a restful time off!
Thank you for your continued support!
Valentine's Day Grams On Sale
Students may purchase a Valentine's Day lollipop and card at lunch near room 532. Candy grams are $1, and they will be delivered on Thursday during 6th-period.
No School Friday, February 14
There is no school on Friday, February 14, in observance of Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
Mid-Winter Break: February 17-21
There is no school for staff and students from February 17 through February 21. School will resume on Monday, February 24.
Trimester 2 Ends March 6
Trimester two will end on Thursday, March 6. Please check your students' grades on PowerSchool.
Secure Campus Practice Drill
I have more details below, but please be advised: we have a practice secure campus drill on Tuesday during 3rd period for all staff and students. Please read the details below. You will receive a text message once the drill is finished.
Principal's Coffee Slides
Here is my presentation from Thursday's Principal's Coffee.
Be Here, Be Amazing!
In addition to continuing to improve in English and math, attendance is also an area of focus for Kennedy. We aim to decrease chronic absenteeism and increase student attendance (95% daily attendance or higher). The first step is to ensure all students and families know the importance of attendance and why school attendance matters.
Please schedule vacations during scheduled school breaks.
Schedule medical appointments after school.
Reach out to the Kennedy administration if students do not want to attend school due to emotional factors.
Notify our attendance clerk about absences.
When absent, students are still responsible for missed assignments and work. We understand that students at the elementary school level may not have to make up for work when absent. At the middle school level, students must connect with each of their teachers upon their return to get missed assignments. Those assignments must be finished and submitted by the required deadlines.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Leonardo
Kennedy Middle School is conducting the yearly evaluation of the site plan goals, which align with our district goals. As parents/guardians, your feedback on the site plan and instructional goals is paramount to the direction we will take and the funding we will allocate to continue, revisit, or cancel initiatives. Please answer the questions from your parent/guardian perspective. The survey is anonymous. Please take the time to give your honest opinion on each of the questions. All your answers will be kept in the strictest of confidentiality. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Mrs. Leonardo.
Kennedy Needs Assessment Survey: click here.
Deadline: Monday, February 10, 2025.
To make sure all staff and students understand our protocols for school safety and drills, our February practice drill will be a secure campus drill. We will conduct this drill during 3rd period.
A secure campus is implemented when a threat of violence or police action in the surrounding community requires precautionary measures to ensure school safety. This response is considered appropriate for a potential threat of violence in the surrounding community or law enforcement activity in the surrounding community.
We will calmly direct all staff/students indoors. Staff will close and lock all classrooms and office doors. Teachers can continue instruction as planned. We will remain indoors until Mrs. Leonardo states that the secure campus drill is completed. The drill should take approximately 15 minutes. Parents and guardians will receive a text once the drill is finished.
For more details about San Mateo County's drill procedures, click here.
Our February School Site Council meeting will be held Wednesday, February 12 at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be virtual. We will begin part two of our needs assessment for the 2025-26 school year.
We will have a PBIS event for 6th-graders on Friday, February 28. Students will get to participate if they are showing their PAWS--prepared, having a positive attitude, making wise choices, and being safe. Students must have good attendance, no lates, cuts, or tardies, and they must have good grades--no Ds or Fs. We will ensure that all students with IEPs and 504s have their accommodations followed.
This event will be at school during the school day and after lunch. Teachers are planning structured activities for students, and PTO funds will be used to rent a mobile game truck and provide students with snacks.
Please encourage your students to get their assignments turned in, show up to class every day and on time, and be respectful of themselves, respectful of others, and responsible for all of their actions.
We are also preparing events for 7th and 8th-grades.
Our 7th graders are going to the Grand Canyon in May!
We would love to collect used hiking items for the upcoming trip. As you know, these items can be very expensive, so we are asking families to donate used items from the previous Grand Canyon and Yosemite trips. If your students are done with the items listed below (or if they are just ready to part with them), please drop them off in the bin in front of the Kennedy office!
We ONLY need the following:
Hiking boots (must be high top boots-must support the ankles)
Hiking pants
Wool Socks
Where to drop off:
Front of the Kennedy office in “Grand Canyon Donation Box”
When:
No later than February 27th
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Melinda Moye (melindakayemoye@gmail.com)
Thank you in advance!
If your child has one of the following symptoms and is unable to participate meaningfully in school, they should be kept at home:
Diarrhea and/or vomiting in the past 24 hours
A fever of 100 or greater in the past 24 hours
headache, fever or chills, cough
shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
sore throat, congestion
nausea or vomiting, fatigue (tiredness)
muscle or body aches
Careful attention to hand washing at home and at school is the single most important measure to decrease the spread of any infection or illness. Hand sanitizers may also be helpful when soap and water are not available.
Be sure to call the school office when illness (or any other reason) necessitates your child being kept home.
Thank you for your cooperation and support in our effort to keep all of our students healthy. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact our school nurse, Lisa Cox lcox@rcsdk8.net.
Hello, Kennedy Community!
Are you looking for ways to volunteer for our school? This link shows you ALL of the available opportunities throughout the entire year: Volunteer Needs.
Remember that our Direct Drive is going on and our students depend on our community’s financial help to make their middle school experience the best it can be! We suggest a $500 donation per family. Payments can be made manageable by choosing to donate $50 a month throughout the school year! Click here to donate: PTO Direct Drive
Kind regards,
Jess Bryski
KMS PTO President
8th-graders attended an assembly on Monday, November 25th. We discussed behavior and academic expectations for the remainder of the school year. Students were given a letter and agreement form. The letter and agreement form must be reviewed and signed by a parent, guardian, or caregiver. The form should be turned into homeroom teachers by Thursday, December 5.
A continued focus this year is reducing our chronic absenteeism rate. We currently have over 120 students who are chronically absent. Our attendance team will identify these students and reach out to families to determine root causes and offer support.
Our school goal is 95-97%% daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly attendance. Students and staff have come up with ideas to promote attendance with incentives for individual students, grade levels, and the entire school.
Attendance Reminders
Students need to be at school every day. If students are ill, parents and caregivers should notify Jessica Perez (jpperez@rcsdk8.net), leave a message on the attendance line voicemail 650-482-2409, or use the School Arrivals app to submit the absence.
Please schedule doctor's appointments after school and vacations during scheduled school vacations.
When your student misses school, they miss valuable instruction. It can be difficult to make up assignments for seven different classes, so students become overwhelmed.
Students need to be on time for school. We will be reaching out to families of students who are late to school to determine what supports are needed to ensure students get to school on time. If you need support, please reach out to us.
Below are some updates from our 7th-grade Grand Canyon field trip team.
- Reservations for Havasu Falls have been made! We can now move forward with this year's trip!
- We will collect the second payment for the trip from February 14-28, 2025, or sooner if you prefer. Families that are signed up will receive a text message from Kennedy by Wednesday, February 5.
- Mandatory Practice Hike: Saturday, March 1st from 8:00-11:30 AM. Students will meet at the Kennedy gym and hike up to Cañada College and back to Kennedy.
- Mandatory Parent and Student Meeting: Tuesday, March 4th at 6:30 PM in the Kennedy gym.
- THERE ARE STILL OPEN SPOTS! If you missed sign ups for the trip in August and are interested in participating you can still sign up. Email Maestro Alfredo if you are interested.
We are accepting donations for students that will need gear for this year's trip. Click HERE for more information on how to donate.
Please email Maestro Alfredo Oropeza (aoropeza@rcsdk8.net) if you have any questions.
TO CONTRIBUTE ONLINE TO 8TH-GRADE ACTIVITIES:
https://app.99pledges.com/fund/kennedycougarsclassof2025
8TH-GRADE ACTIVITIES CONTRIBUTION INSTRUCTIONS & FORM:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12HkyLyULf8lgt8O-oH8elnNHDn85toToRaxKxLR9aLg/edit?usp=sharing
- Intramurals Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays at lunch
- Wellness Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Mondays Room 207
- Anime Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Mondays Room 314
- Photojournalism Club Mondays Room 532
- Calligraphy/Cursive Writing Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Mondays Room 318
- 6th-Grade Lunch Bunch 6th Grade Lunch Tuesdays and Fridays Room 207
- Chess Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 535
- Video Game Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 314
- GSA Skittles 7/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 315
- Italian Club Tuesdays After School Room 318
- Art Club 6th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 104
- Art Club 7th/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays Room 526
- Badminton Club 7th/8th Grade Lunch Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Gym
- 7/8th-Grade Lunch Bunch Wednesdays Room 207
Hispanic/Latine Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Wednesdays Room 530
- Book Club in the Kennedy Library Dates/Times TBD
- Board Game Club Thursdays in the Kennedy Library
- Origami Club Thursdays 6th Grade lunch in B-8
- Video Game Club 6th Grade Lunch Thursdays Room 102
- Environmental Club 7/8th Grade Lunch Thursdays Room 535
VinylHeadz (Music Discussion) 7/8th Grade Lunch Fridays Room 528
We encourage every Kennedy student to join and participate in at least one club this school year. Clubs are a great way to make connections, make friends, and create a joyful school environment. Clubs are created by students for students. Students need to find a teacher to advise their club. Clubs generally meet once a week. Students need to listen to the morning announcements for updates.
Students can get help with homework and assignments on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays after school in the Kennedy Library from 3:15-4:15 p.m. If students are enrolled in the Boys and Girls Club after school program, they need to sign in first.
Students must be actively working on assignments. Students should not come to Homework Help to hang out or be off task.
We look forward to helping students succeed!
Students can also get support with Tutor.com. This is a free virtual service available to all students. Students can access Tutor.com through Clever using their Chromebooks. Find the logo that looks like the icon to the left. We will teach students about Tutor.com after Goal-Setting Conferences during homeroom.
Brainfuse is one of the most experienced online tutoring companies in the nation. HelpNow is a unique tutoring, homework help, and studying suite designed to assist patrons of all ages succeed. This is a service provided through Redwood City Public Library. Students can access Brainfuse by finding the Redwood City Public Library icon on Clever on their Chromebook. They should look for the icon like the one pictured on the right.
Your students should have homework Monday through Friday. Our English language arts and math teachers will assign homework nightly. Here are the general homework guidelines for each grade level:
6th Grade: 30-45 minutes
7th Grade: 45-60 minutes
8th Grade: 60-75 minutes
These times may vary depending on the assignments and projects, but students should have some math or reading assignment each night. If your student says they do not have homework, please make sure they show you their assignments in Google Classroom. You can also check PowerSchool for grades. If your student says they finished their assignments at school, make them show you their finished work.
If students are finished with their assignments, they can still:
Read their independent reading books.
Practice reading or math i-Ready or Khan Academy lessons.
Review notes from classes to make sure they understand their lessons.
Create flashcards for key vocabulary terms and review them.
Clean out or organize their backpacks, binders, and folders.
Kennedy Middle School
Website: https://www.rcsdk8.net/kennedy
Location: 2521 Goodwin Avenue, Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone: 650.482.2409
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennedymiddleschool