Cougar Connect

Dear Kennedy Community,

I hope this message finds you well as we continue through this eventful school year. Our middle school community has once again shown its remarkable care and support in the face of challenging news. As many of you know, our beloved music teacher, Mr. Balogh, was involved in a motorcycle accident last week. While we are relieved to share that he is okay and in good spirits, he will need time to recover before returning to us. I have been in contact with him, and he wanted me to make sure our community knows that he is thankful for the care and support you have shown to him over the last few days.

In the meantime, I am committed to ensuring that our music program remains vibrant and engaging for our students. We are also coordinating ways to send our love and well wishes to Mr. Balogh during his recovery. Our music liaison, Lilli Milton, sent an email update to music families about how to support Mr. Balogh, so please check your email for that update.

Thank you for being such a compassionate and supportive community. Moments like these remind us of the strength and kindness we share here at Kennedy.

Here are updates for this week:

Flag Football & Volleyball Champions + Redwood City Parks & Recs Sports

Congrats to our Kennedy flag football and 8th-grade girls' volleyball teams! They both won their championship games this week. We had three volleyball teams in championship games. Thank you to Maestro Alfredo, Ms. Meek, Mr. Montoya, Mr. Amboy, Meredyth Hite, Emma Hite, Jon Landes, Samantha Johnson, Scott Morton, and Lefuafua Sheffield for coaching our students. We appreciate you!

Speaking of sports, registration for spring soccer and girls' flag football will be open up today! Below are the links to the info pages on the Redwood City Parks and Rec website and the registration links.

School Site Council: Wednesday, November 20

Our monthly School Site Council meeting will be held this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. on Google Meet. The agenda can be found here.

Principal's Coffee/ELAC Meeting: Thursday, November 21

Join me on Thursday at 8:45 a.m. in the Kennedy Library for my monthly Principal's Coffee. Our ELAC meeting will also be held at the same time. Anna Herrera, our district Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, will present information about the district's 2025-26 budget initiative.

RCSD Reclassification Ceremony: Thursday, November 21

Students who met reclassification requirements will be honored on Thursday evening at McKinley Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Students and their families have been notified by email and paper invitations.

Dine-Out at Woodside Roadhouse: Thursday, November 21

Support Kennedy by dining out at Woodside Roadhouse this week. The flyer is listed below this message. Thank you!

Honor Breakfast: December 4, 2024

We will honor students who earned Honor Roll (3.75-3.99 GPA) and Principal's Honor Roll (4.0+) on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30 a.m. Please note this change. Our Calendar of Events previously listed the Honor Breakfast in November, but we changed the date. Details about the Honor Breakfast will be sent to families this Friday, November 22. Students who meet Honor Roll GPA requirements will take home paper invitations. Email notifications will also be sent to families.

Missing Assignment Study Hall: Friday After School

Students who have missing assignments or who are currently earning a D+, D, D-, or F for their current trimester two grades will be asked to stay after school on Friday to work on and submit missing assignments. Families will be notified by text and email by Wednesday evening.

Students Who Earned Below 2.0 for Trimester 1

Our admin team will contact families of students who earned a GPA lower than 2.0 during trimester one. We will begin with 8th-grade students. These meetings will discuss areas of concern and growth for each individual student and ensure supports are in place for students this trimester.

November Podcast

Our Kennedy students created podcasts with school updates for November. Marisa S. and Samson M., 6th-graders, created the English podcast (click here). Our 8th-grade students, Danna L.R. and Osiris S.O., created the Spanish podcast (click here). They are also taking the lead with our November Family Challenge. Get the details below!

Attendance

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.

The Kennedy Office is open Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Liz Avalos, Office Manager: lmavalos@rcsdk8.net

Maritza Gutierrez, Office Assistant (student records, medical notices): mggutierrez@rcsdk8.net

Jessica Perez, Office Assistant (attendance, independent study): jpperez@rcsdk8.net

Have a great week!

Mrs. Leonardo

Marisa S. and Samson M., 6th-graders, created our first-ever student podcast! They are a part of the Photojournalism Club and worked together to create this podcast! I am always so proud when students do things to benefit our school community. Thank you, Ms. Cardona and Ms. Valente, for advising this club on Mondays in Room 532 at lunch.

Hello, Kennedy Community!

Please join us for our monthly PTO meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 7:00 pm. We will meet in person at Kennedy in Room 101 and simultaneously on Zoom. Here is the link and login information.

https://zoom.us/j/93119040816?pwd=aq7QW86bXugaq08Dswoavf3wTxcd0M.1

Meeting ID: 931 1904 0816; Passcode: Kennedy

Topics will include a guest speaker about a potential citizens initiative parcel tax, a budget overview, and committee updates. Your voice matters, and we’d love your input and feedback.

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