Cougar Connect

Dear Kennedy Community,

Happy First Week of March! February was a short month, but it was also a busy month! Last week, our student leadership class hosted our February assembly, which allowed our Mandarin Immersion students to sing a Mandarin song and share facts about Chinese New Year with students. The assembly also showcased performances from our dance class and jazz band members in honor of Black History Month. Ms. Camara's students also presented research information they completed about Black Americans. We are proud of our Kennedy students!

I am also excited to share with you that it is now time to purchase tickets for our annual musical. Kennedy Middle School Legally Blonde: The Musical Jr.! There will be four performances, and you don't want to miss out. Purchase your tickets before they sell out. You can purchase your tickets here. Spread the word!

I have a meeting/scheduling conflict this Thursday, so I will reschedule this Thursday's Principal Coffee meeting. I'll have an update for you next week.

This Thursday, we also have a new event hosted by Mr. Balogh and Ms. Wilson: Kennedy Music & Poetry Night. See the details below.

Trimester 2 Ends March 6

• Trimester two will end on Thursday, March 6. Please check your students' grades on PowerSchool.

• Report cards will be mailed home the following week.

• Parent-Teacher conferences will be held the week of March 10-14 for students who earned Ds or Fs during trimester two. Teachers will reach out to families directly.

Attendance Meetings

Kennedy's admin will also meet with families of students who are chronically absent. We will work together to identify the root causes of absenteeism and then create a plan for students. Our admin team will reach out to families this week.

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

This week all families will receive an email from Mrs. Leonardo with a link for the California Healthy Kids Survey. The purpose of this survey is to obtain parent and guardians' perceptions about Kennedy. The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, March 14th.

Calling all students interested in participating in the Technical Crew for Legally Blonde: The Musical Jr. Please come to the Drama room 417 during your recess on Tuesday, March 4th, (6th grade, and 7th/8th grade recess) to officially sign up for the Tech-Crew and start the fun! Everyone is welcome! You can run lights, sound, microphones, costumes, backstage; the sky is the limit! This is a fun and exciting way to participate in your Kennedy community and build something special! Mrs. Rosenbloom looks forward to seeing you on Tuesday, March 4th in room 417 during Recess!

Tech Crew Participation Form: click here.

Join us for an inspiring evening of creativity at Kennedy Middle School’s Poetry Night! Enjoy original poetry written and performed by our talented students, accompanied by live music from our student musicians. This special event is open to everyone—families, friends, and community members. Donations are encouraged, with all proceeds supporting the Kennedy Music program. Don’t miss this celebration of student voices and artistry!

When: Thursday, March 6, 2025

Location: Kennedy Middle School Library

Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Attention all Kennedy Boys' Soccer players: please meet on the Kennedy field at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5. We will have our soccer evaluations.

Hello, Kennedy Community!

Calling all parents! We need volunteers to help with the new safety-themed mural that gets underway this week. Please sign up HERE! The PTO will also be hosting an appreciation lunch for our teachers and staff on Wednesday. Sign up HERE to contribute and show them our love!

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

We're excited to announce another mural project at Kennedy! Funded by a grant from the San Mateo County Safe Routes to School program with paint provided by Hassett Hardware, this mural was designed by Elizabeth Gomez and students in Ms. Segal's Art classes. The theme is safely walking and biking to school as ways to care for our health and well-being, with an emphasis on benefits to the environment. Painting begins this week! Follow the progress here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ynHY9FsX1xFce5WX6

We are working hard to find sponsors for the May 9th Color Run! The sponsorship would cover the cost of the event so that any money earned would go directly to our students! Thank you to the following sponsors so far:

Primary Sponsors

Rim Orthodontics

Biohackr Health

Secondary Sponsors

Allison Fujimoto Real Estate Agent

Dehoff's Key Market

Mountain Mikes

If your company or a company you know well would like to be a secondary sponsor ($300), this is a tax-deductible donation! Feel free to reach out to Melinda Moye (melindakayemoye@gmail.com) or Krista Cuschieri (kcuschieri54@gmail.com) for more information!

Our February School Site Council meeting was held on Wednesday, February 25 at 5:00 p.m. We began part two of our needs assessment. Here are the minutes from the meeting.

If your child has one of the following symptoms and is unable to participate meaningfully in school, they should be kept at home:

1. Diarrhea and/or vomiting in the past 24 hours

2. A fever of 100 or greater in the past 24 hours

1. headache, fever or chills, cough

2. shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

3. sore throat, congestion

4. nausea or vomiting, fatigue (tiredness)

5. 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.

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

MARCH

• End of Trimester 2 Mar. 6
• Spring Dance Mar. 14 Gym 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• Spring Conferences ~ Minimum Days Mar. 10-14 In-Person 1:50 p.m.
• Staff Development ~ No School Mar. 17 All Day
• School Site Council Mar. 19 Virtual 8:45-9:45 p.m.
• Musical Tech Week Mar. 22-28 MIT Auditorium
• PTO Meeting Mar. 25 Library/Zoom 7:00-8:30 p.m.
• Honor Breakfast Mar. 26 Gym 7:15-8:30 a.m.
• Kennedy Musical Mar. 28-30 MIT Auditorium

Please click here to view our Calendar of Events. Events are subject to change. Please read the Cougar Connect newsletter for changes.

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.

8th-grade Letter

Zoom link for AVID meeting: bit.ly/suhsdavid2025

Kennedy uses Treering for our yearbooks. Visit www.treering.com/validate to order your student their yearbook. Yearbooks are $38.29; they will be distributed in June to students.

Kennedy's school passcode is 1015926081674110.

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.

• 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
  
• 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:

1. Read their independent reading books.

2. Practice reading or math i-Ready or Khan Academy lessons.

3. Review notes from classes to make sure they understand their lessons.

4. Create flashcards for key vocabulary terms and review them.

5. Clean out or organize their backpacks, binders, and folders.

In order to make our handbook for students and families more accessible, we have digitized it. Please know that the information in the handbook will be continually updated to ensure families are informed.

Click to view and save the Kennedy Student & Family Handbook.

We appreciate you thinking of our teachers.

Kennedy's Amazon Wishlist

With a commitment to excellence, Kennedy Middle School engages, encourages, and empowers students in challenging and creative learning opportunities while preparing them for their futures in high school and beyond.

Website: https://www.rcsdk8.net/kennedy
Location: 2521 Goodwin Avenue, Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone: 650.482.2409
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennedymiddleschool