Kennedy Cougars

Week ONE of school went very well. Students seemed excited to be back, looked engaged in their classrooms, and have settled in nicely to life back at school. The cafeteria was a BUZZING scene of budding new friendships, classrooms were filled with engaging community building group work, and teachers were meeting in the professional learning communities to discuss the upcoming days, weeks, and months of exciting curriculum to be taught. I must say, it was one of the BEST openings of school we have had!

Laps at Lunch information:

I want to take a moment to thank all of the Laps at Lunch parents who volunteered their time in previous years for this great school program. The Kennedy Laps program gives our students an opportunity to get some exercise outside, soak in the fresh air, and socialize during unstructured times. We couldn't make this happen without our community parent/caregiver partners. Here is a message from our Laps at Lunch folks:

Laps at Lunch is trying something new this year. In the past we’ve asked for a weekly time slot commitment. This year we’ve set up time slots on a Sign-Up genius to get us through November. We’ll create additional sign-ups for Dec – Feb and March – June. Please sign up for the same weekly time slot if that works for you, or for individual times slots if that’s better. So no more excuses, no more yearlong weekly commitment. Please, even 2 or 3 times can make the difference between having enough volunteers and the kids not getting outside. If you would like to be on our substitute list, please email us, KennedyLaps@gmail.com, and we’ll put you on the list. We always need substitutes. We are also looking for a Co-Coordinator or two. Would love to have you join the team! Any questions, please reach out, kennedylaps@gmail.com. All volunteers must be CORI'd to participate. This happens at the Kennedy front office.

And, Please sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080448ABAD2EAAFF2-kennedy

Picture Day is coming...

Picture day is set for Wednesday, September 13th. Please mark your calendars! Purchase information will be sent out the week before. Stay tuned for more information.

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.

Kennedy Open Houses:

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our Kennedy Open Houses coming up. Here is the information:

• Thursday, September 28: Grade 5 & 6 Open House (6:00 - 8:00pm)
• Thursday, October 5: Grade 7 & 8 Open House (6:00 - 8:00pm)

Each night will start in the auditorium with a few words from the administration (6:00-6:30pm), followed by teacher presentations (6:30 - 8:00). We hope you can make it!

Just as we did last year, Kennedy will be using the Positivity Project as part of our student SEL programming. Each newsletter, I will send out a message to families with the content we are working on so you, too, can partake in the curriculum. Working on this at home gives you a nice opportunity to be involved in your student's life at school, while helping us in our quest to build strong character in each and every Kennedy student. Click on the link found HERE to learn more about the Positivity Project for families.

I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful Fall weather over this 3 day weekend!

Warm regards,

Jodie Cohen, Principal

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

1 - Kennedy Athletics Update

Fall athletics at Kennedy is about to start. If you have a student interested in sports, the following will be offered this Fall:

• Cross Country
• Field Hockey
• Girls Volleyball

Registration is open on FamilyID.com. Go to the Kennedy Athletics Website for more details.

Practices/Tryouts start Tuesday September 12th. You must be fully registered in order to participate. If you have any questions please email Mr. Lyth at dlyth@natickps.org

To learn more information about our fall athletics program, please join us on a google meet! The details are below:

• Field Hockey (7th & 8th Graders) Informational Meeting: Tues Sept. 5th at 6:00pm on Google Meet use code: fieldhockey

• Girl's Volleyball (7th & 8th Graders) Informational Meeting: Weds Sept. 6th at 6:00pm on Google Meet, use code: volleyball

• Boys & Girls Cross Country (6th-8th Grade) Informational Meeting: Weds Sept. 6th at 6:30pm on Google Meet, use code: crosscountry

2 - Reminder: Kennedy Late Buses start Tuesday, September 12th

Late buses at KENNEDY will start running onTuesday, September 13th which means that our after school clubs will be starting on that day, as well. Here is a link to the clubs and activities page on our website. This page will be updated shortly with our 2023-24 school year offerings. Clubs are a perfect way for our students to find connection and belonging to our school. We encourage everyone to get involved in some sort of after school activity at Kennedy. Check out the list and get involved!!!

3 - PICTURE DAY IS COMING

Picture day is set for Wednesday, September 13th. Please mark your calendars! Purchase information will be sent out the week before. Stay tuned for more information.

4 - UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS for your calendar

• Monday, September 11: No Late Buses today - KMS Faculty Meeting
• Tuesday, September 12: First day of late buses and extra-curricular activities/sports
• Wednesday, September 20: Early Release, Dismissal at 11:30 am
• Monday, September 25: No School - Yom Kippur Holiday
• Thursday, September 28: Grade 5 & 6 Open House (6:00 - 8:00pm)
• Thursday, October 5: Grade 7 & 8 Open House (6:00 - 8:00pm)

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.

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 1990Title II
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title VI
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Title IX
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• MGL, Ch.76, Section 5: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5