We had a great turnout at our 6th-8th grade social last Thursday. Thank you for attending. If you missed the information about the 7th-grade Grand Canyon and Yosemite trips, I am including the presentation in the newsletter. For our 8th-grade families, I will send an email to you in the next two weeks that details the important events for your students and how you can get involved.

💻Chromebooks

Your students get their Chromebooks in their science classes this Wednesday and Thursday. Chromebooks are supposed to be taken home and brought back to school each day. Here are a few important guidelines that we need your support with:

1. Students need to charge their Chromebooks each night. Please find a space outside of their sleeping area to charge their Chromebooks.
2. Students need to take care of their Chromebooks. They should not walk to and from classes holding their laptops. They should not use their laptops at brunch or lunch. Students should be mindful of where they leave their backpacks.
3. Students should use their laptops for classwork and homework. If they are not using their laptop to be productive, remind them about our school policies and have them put their laptops away.

We greatly appreciate your support in helping us teach students how to manage their laptops.

🔥Practice Evacuation Drill Tuesday, August 29

We will have a practice fire drill on Tuesday, August 29 in the morning. We will practice evacuation procedures with all students and staff. We are required to have a monthly drill, so I will notify you each month about the drill. Please review San Mateo County's Big 5 protocols below.

📋PTO Meeting

Our very first PTO meeting will be this Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm in the Kennedy Library. Our first meeting will be in person, then we will move to Zoom in the months to follow. We invite everyone to attend!

Here are the next important events at Kennedy. While they are not happening this week, I think it's important for families to have the information as soon as possible so that you can make plans and adjust your schedules.

🍎Back to School Night

Back to School Night will be Tuesday, September 5th from 5:45 to 7:30 pm. Please note the time change. Our Calendar of Events has been updated to reflect the change, but if you have a paper copy of the calendar of events, it won't reflect the changes we made. I will have additional details in next week's bulletin, but from 5:45 to 5:55 I will greet the Kennedy community in the gym. Then students and their families will be dismissed to visit classes from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Teachers will be given 10 minutes to give a very brief overview of their class. Families travel to classrooms in the order of their students' schedules. We will have students fill out their schedule in class this week so that they will be ready for Back to School Night.

Please keep in mind that Tuesday, September 5 will be a minimum day. We will be dismissed at 1:50 pm due to Back to School Night.

ℹ️High School Information Night

After Back to School Night, we invite 8th-grade families to come to the Kennedy gym to learn about important high school dates. We will meet from 7:30 to 8:15 pm.

☕Principal's Coffee Thursday, September 7

My first Principal's Coffee will be on Thursday, September 7 in the Kennedy Library. I plan to get started by 8:45 am. I'd also like to tour classrooms by 9:15 am.

🕛Super Minimum Day Thursday, September 7

Our teachers will have professional development meetings almost every month this year. On these days, students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏽School Site Council Meeting/English Learner Advisory Committee Meeting

I had an SSC and ELAC meeting scheduled for this Wednesday, August 30, but since we still need time to collect nominations and vote for our members, I have moved SSC to September. This will give me some more time to form the committees. Our first meeting in September will be in person in the Kennedy Library. We will then meet virtually each month following our first meeting.

To nominate yourself for School Site Council, please fill out this form by Friday, September 8. Once we have nominations, our school community will vote. I'll send more updates about this process next week.

🐾Kennedy Website

I am actively working on our Kennedy website to make sure it has the most up-to-date information and links. Thank you for your patience!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Leonardo

6th Grade: 30 minutes

7th Grade: 45 minutes

8th Grade: 60 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.

Sara Rosenbloom, our drama teacher, will be leading our Spring Musical. We are excited to announce this year’s production--The Addams Family Musical Jr.! This year we will be live and in person, and we are looking forward to a fantastic production this spring! Students will work as a group to create a musical. This is a performance opportunity for students to build community, sing, dance, and act in a group and create a show we can all be proud of. Being part of a production is a lot of fun and a great way to participate in the school community. Last year over 300 students participated in the musical in some way!

If you are interested in participating in the musical, in any way, and finding out more information, please attend the informational meeting this Thursday from 6:00 pm-7:00 pm on Zoom.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89980180366?pwd=ZytSMWViQzNxZUVqby92c0l5eEhBZz09

Important dates and information:

• Thursday, August 31st, 6:00 pm-7:00 pm Informational Meeting

Spring Musical Show Dates: April 26-28 2024.

Contact Ms. Rosenbloom if you have any questions: srosenbloom@rcsdk8.net

BGCP is still receiving applications, but students are being placed on a waitlist.

If you are interested in enrolling your student in the Boys and Girls Club, please sign up here.

Email: kennedy@bgcp.org

Call or text: (650) 804-9045

Direct Drive 2023-24 Click here

The Organization of Parents and Teachers (PTO) of the Kennedy Intermediate School (KMS) is dedicated to supporting and improving the educational experiences of Kennedy students through donations and volunteering.

What do we support?

Some programs we support include school dances, lunchtime activities, physical education, music, STEAM, art, drama, maker space, & 8th-grade celebration activities. We work closely with the KMS administration to help determine what programs and activities to support.

How can I volunteer?

Everyone (parents or guardians, teachers, and staff of Kennedy Middle School) is automatically a member and is encouraged to attend our monthly meetings. Please join us on the last Tuesday of the month, via Zoom from 7-8:30 pm, starting on August 29, 2023. Find more details and opportunities at: www.kennedycougarspto.org

How can I donate?

PayPal (click here)

CreditCard via Online Store (click here)

Donation Form (click here)

Fall Sports: Sign Up Here

Below is the list of sports available for students in the fall:

- School Volleyball League

- School Flag Football League

- Tennis

- Run Club

- Watersports

- Skate Clinic

- Basketball Clinic

Contact Michael Smith (After School Sports Coordinator) at 650-780-7254 or msmith@redwoodcity.org for additional information.

All forms should be submitted at Red Morton offices.

Coach Moe will host volleyball clinics in the Kennedy gym this Tuesday and Thursday after school. Tuesday: 3:20-4:30 Thursday: 2:00-4:00

We are incredibly grateful for your support!

We received Kleenex, flip chart markers, pencil sharpeners, dry-erase markers, Post-Its, and glue sticks from an anonymous person or two. Thank you!

Thank you, Christina Keegan, for the highlighters.

Thank you, Ameena McNamara, for the binder paper.

Thank you, Mariana Eymann, for the headphones. Mrs. Virnich's students will use these!

Thank you, Casey Teague, for the x-y axis whiteboards and binder paper.

Thank you, Astrid Usong, for the x-y axis whiteboards.

Thank you, Jalila Lee, for the markers and Kleenex.

Thank you to the Swint Family for the pencil sharpeners!

Thank you, John and Tracey Lee, for the classroom scissors.

Thank you, Jessica Bryski, for the ballpoint pens, color coding dots, Crayola colored pencil class pack, and the classroom timers.

Kennedy's Amazon Wishlist