Kennedy Families,

Wow! We survived the hot weather this week. I hope everyone is okay and your families and students got through this week safely. Our students and staff did a great job managing the heat with staff prioritizing comfort and students conserving their energy while on the yard.

Here is what you need to know for the week ahead (Sept 12-16):

Calendar Update

• Minimum Day Tuesday, September 13th 2:10 dismissal (Link)

• Minimum Day Tuesday, September 13th is due to Back to School Night that evening

• Students will attend periods 1-7 on Tuesday.

Tardies - Students Late to classes 2-7th periods

Kennedy began "Academic Lunch" during lunch for students who are late to class this week. Families were notified via text message if their student was late. If you have a student who is late to class, please follow up with him/her and encourage timely arrival to classes. We appreciate your efforts in this matter.

Lunch Pick-up

Families that need to pick-up their students during Kennedy lunch time, please come five minutes before lunch begins or five minutes after lunch ends. Thank you for taking this into consideration.

COVID-19

COVID-19 is still a concern for our staff, students, and families. We continue to recommend, but not require, students wear masks. If a student tests positive, parents should complete the district’s self-reporting form and inform the Kennedy office. This form is available on the “Quick Links” section of the RCSD website as well as all 12 school websites.

Also, if your student is sick or showing COVID-19 symptoms, please keep the student home and get them tested.

Go, Cougars!

Nikolaos Fanourgiakis

Principal

Kennedy Middle School

nfanourgiakis@rcsdk8.net

Kennedy Back to School Night is this week!

Students received their class schedule on 9/9. (Link). Families can also access students' schedules using parent portal which now up and running

Below is the schedule for Back to School Night:

• Gates Open in Front front office off Goodwin or near the gymnasium off Washington at 5:30 pm

• Kickoff in the Gym from 5:45 pm - 5:57 pm (Hosted by administration)

• Class Schedule starts at 6:00 pm with 10 minute class rotations with families being able to visit all 7 classes

• Back to School night ends at 7:30 pm

*This is not a conference but an opportunity to meet your new teachers.

*Masking is still highly recommended.

The district activated Parent Portal on September 9th for all families district wide.

Kennedy school distributed access codes to students for families this week in homeroom. Please ask your student to show you the PowerSchool letter that was given to them. We were informed that families that already have an account will be able to use their old password to login. Parent portal will provide families access to students grades and attendance as well as past student state test results.

Short Video Tutorial

Kennedy teachers are expected to have their grade books updated at least every two weeks (many update daily).

If you still need your login please contact Ms. Segundo msegundo@rcsdk8.net

Powerschool Mobile App District Code: ZXGZ

*Also if you are an 8th grader the High Schools last school year used the I-Ready Reading assessment as a class placement metric.

I-Ready Testing Schedule is below: (Block Days and Friday)

• Sept 14-16 Reading Assessment in their english class

• Sept 21-23 Math Assessment in their math classes

Families can also complete order options online by following the directions below:

- https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/

- Code: EVTFKFZ2S

8th Grade Corner

8th Grade students and families this year is very important for your students. Students academic performance this year will be used by local High Schools for class placement. We encourage all 8th graders to do the best that they can throughout the year so that they are placed in the appropriate classes in HS.

Some Information for you:

• Local High Schools are providing Shadowing opportunities for students with some already starting. See link for more information.

• Kennedy School will be having an information night for 8th grade families Sept 22nd 7:00-8:00 pm via zoom

• High school Fair in the Kennedy gym October 13th 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm in the Kennedy gym

Ballots have been sent out.

And the winners are:

• President: Joe
• Vice President: Kajetan
• Secretary: Ella
• Treasurer: Troy
• Press Secretary: Holland
• PTO Student Representative: Brody
• 6th Grade Communications: Vikram

See: Student Council webpage (Link)

• Staff awards students with Cougar Cash who abide by

• P = Prepared

• A = Attitude (positive)

• W = Wise choices

• S = Safety

Kennedy Clubs will begin the weeks of the September 22nd and 29th

Student can also propose their own club here. and based on interest it can be created.

If you are interested in being an official part of our School Site Council and ELAC this year, please fill out the form below. Interested individuals will be asked to complete a short paragraph about you for our ballots in mid September. Voting will be included in our weekly messages.

The School Site Council and ELAC oversee how we spend our Measure U (parcel tax) dollars and site discretionary funds, and help make other decisions related to Kennedy programs. We meet the last Tuesday of each month from 6-7pm.

We need five official parents/guardians to be part of our site council, including at least one parent who has an English learner who can represent the ELAC. Others not elected are welcome to join us in our meetings, but may not be part of the official votes.

Click here if interested.

PTO NEWS - 9/9/22

September PTO Meeting - Tuesday, 9/27/22 - via Zoom. All parents & families are welcome to join in the meeting!

Open PTO Leadership Roles-

• Book Fair Coordinator - plan & organize Scholastic Book Fair in the library - Nov 14-18, 22 during school hours. Work with KMS librarian, volunteers & students.

• Volunteer Coordinator - facilitate volunteering efforts for PTO

• Grade Level Parent Leaders - communicate with parents at your student's grade level, plan parent connections

Check out www.kennedycougarspto.org for more info.

Follow the KMS PTO on Instagram @KennedyCougarsPTO and Facebook at John F Kennedy Middle School Parent Teacher Organization.

Kennedy Student / Family Handbook

Calendar 2022-23