Kennedy Cougars
Your Weekly Update from Kennedy Middle School
Principal's Message
Sliding into February vacation like...
Dear Kennedy families and caregivers,
The last two weeks have literally flown by. As we gear up for February vacation we are looking forward to having some fun, too. The Cougar Peer Leadership Crew has planned two awesome pep rallies leading up to our faculty - student basketball HOOPLA game this week. Grade 8 is in the midst of the winter carnival up on the 4th floor. The door decorating contest has begun up there and the winners are too close to predict at this point. The students have completely outdone themselves this year. Lots of good times headed our way.
On Wednesday of the half day this week, all grades attended an assembly where they were able to hear ways in which their peers are "just showing up" here at school and in their lives. The student stories were INSPIRING and the work that they are doing to show gratitude, empathy, and commitment to a better school culture at Kennedy is permeating the building. Some pictures from the day are below. Check it out! Kudos to the brave students and staff who shared their accomplishments with their peers. You are all an inspiration to us all.
I want to very much thank the families in the drop off and pick up lines for working hard to follow the protocol around the back of the building. The traffic flow has been MUCH better and students have made it to school on time and ready to learn. THANK YOU for your commitment to the plan. It's definitely working!!
National School Counselor Week, Feb 5 - 9:
Did you know it's National School Counseling Week?? Please take some time to thank our school counselors - Kelly Morin, Melisa MacDonald, Kelly Corey, and Todd Heller - for all the work they do helping all our students be successful. WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO!!!!
What's new from Spark Kindness:
Exciting News for parents/caregivers of elementary aged students! SPARK Kindness is hosting a special (daytime!) free virtual event coming up on Wed 2/14 at 12pm ET. Start your Valentine’s Day off right by focusing on your own Real Self Care. Join leading expert Dr. Pooja Lakshmin + learn tools on how to shift self-care from a task on your “to do” list to a values-based practice of setting priorities. An important program on how to be KIND to yourself!
Our hope is that parents/caregivers can attend this "lunch and learn" daytime program while their children are in school. Please see the below event description and graphic to share with your communities. We appreciate your support in helping to bring awareness to this special event!
With care,
Emily Coelho of the SPARK Kindness team
Event Name: Real Self-Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Taking Good Care of Yourself
Event Date: Wednesday, February 14 at 12pm ET
Event Description: SPARK Kindness presents a FREE virtual “lunch and learn” program. In this Q&A “fireside” chat, author and psychiatrist Pooja Lakshmin, MD, offers an inclusive and affirming approach to prioritizing your own well-being. Her approach shifts self-care from a task on your “to do” list (that you feel guilty about not achieving) to a values-based practice of setting priorities and taking action. Dr. Lakshmin will share accessible, science-based strategies to help you shift your relationships, nurture yourself, and find ownership over your life. Participant questions will be welcomed before the program. Live ASL Interpretation will be provided.
Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/788550524847?aff=oddtdtcreator
Kennedy Athletics Update:
It's been a GREAT week of sports here at KMS! GO COUGARS!! Check out this week's results:
Boys Intramural Basketball defeats Wilson 50-42
Girls Basketball defeats Wellesley 51-33
Girls Basketball defeats Needham 42-21
Girls Basketball defeats Oak Hill (Newton) 67-19
Boys Basketball defeats Wellesley 61-23
Boys Basketball defeats Needham 64-57
Boys Basketball lost to Oak Hill (Newton) 70-64
Keep it up Cougars!!!
8th to 9th grade transition information:
8th Grade to 9th Grade Transition Events for The Class of 2028.
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
Jodie Cohen
Proud Principal of Kennedy
"To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold."
~Aristotle
Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick
Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick
website - kennedy.natickps.org
Extreme Home Makeover competition, less than 4.0 degree change during heat test.
FIVE Things You Need to Know
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
Feb 19 - 23 February Vacation - No school
Friday, Mar 29 - Good Friday - No school
April 10 Eid al-Fitr - No school
April 15 - 19 April Vacation - No school
Monday, May 27- Memorial Day - No school
PAPER - On - Demand tutoring Information
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.
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