Kennedy Cougars

Dear Kennedy Families and Caregivers,

Can you believe that Halloween is Monday? Here at Kennedy, we do allow Halloween costumes to be worn to school, but we do not allow masks or costumes that cover the face in any way. Weapons or weapon-like items of any type, even if they are a toy, are NOT allowed. Costumes should follow the guidelines of the student handbook. And, lastly, all makeup for your costume must be done at home before entering the building. We are looking forward to a fun costume day on Monday. If your student does not want to wear a costume, that is fine, as well.

Wilson and Kennedy faculty had a fabulous professional development day on Wednesday that started with a fantastic presentation by Henry J. Turner, Ed.D on building a positive school culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. After that presentation, Dr. Art Ferguson spoke about his role and set the stage for breakout sessions with cross town teams. It was a wonderful day of learning, thinking, and action plans going forward. It was awesome to host our colleagues from Wilson and to collaborate with my principal partner, Teresa Carney. We feel energized and ready to bring our best foot forward for every middle school student in the district.

Parent Teacher conferences are coming November 16th. In order to sign up for conferences, you MUST have access to the parent portal by completing your PowerSchool forms. If you have not completed your required PowerSchool forms, please take care of that as soon as possible. These forms are required and must be filled out for every student in the building. Your cooperation would be deeply appreciated. If you need support on how to do these forms, reach out and we will assist you.

KMS Fall Play 2022 "The Snow", by Finegan Kruckemeyer

When an epic snowfall imprisons the residents of the tiny village of Kishka, young Theodore Sutton proposes the villagers build a catapult to fling him and six of the village’s bravest and strongest out in search of a solution. The catapult hastily assembled, Theodore and the heroes are launched over the snow and into the grandest of adventures. Whimsical and humorous, dark and mysterious, heartfelt and sincere, this play weaves a fantastical Grimmsian tale for the entire family.

Performances will be:

• Friday November 18th at 7:00pm
• Saturday November 19th at 7:00pm
• Sunday November 20th at 2:00pm

Tickets are $10, available at the door, and in the Kennedy front office the week prior to the show

Kennedy sports update - It's been a fabulous week of athletics here at Kennedy. Here are the highlights:

• Boys Cross Country defeated Wilson 21-44
• Boys Cross Country defeated Oak Hill 21-52
• Congrats to the boys on an UNDEFEATED season!
• Girls Cross Country defeated Wilson 27-46
• Girls Cross Country defeated Oak Hill 27-58

• Girls Volleyball defeated Wilson 2-1
• Girls Volleyball lost to Wilson 1-2
• They finished the season 8 wins, 1 loss - great season for girls volleyball!
• Field Hockey defeated Wellesley 2-1
• Congrats to field hockey on finishing the season 5-2-1 and only giving up 4 goals all season!

Happy Halloween to everyone on Monday!!!

Warm regards,

Jodie Cohen, Principal"

"Success is best when it's shared." ~ Howard Schultz

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

1 - Picture Retakes, Wednesday, December 7th

For any student who was not in school on our last picture day (October 20th) or for anyone who would like a retake, the photographers will be returning to Kennedy for retakes. The original prints will be sent home before this date for review. You may still order prints on www.coffeepond.com.

2 - Virtual Parent Teacher conferences coming on November 16th, 12:30 - 3:30pm

Virtual parent teacher conferences are coming soon to Kennedy. In order to participate in the sign up families MUST have their paperwork done through the parent portal. If that paperwork is not done, you will not have access to the sign up program. All conferences will be 15 minutes and they will be first come, first serve. More detailed information will be shared in next week's newsletter.

3 - Yearbook Orders

The full-color, 64+ page, hard-cover yearbook that chronicles the highlights of the 2022-23 school year is on sale now! We are discounting the book until November 14th. If you reserve your copy before 11/14 the price is only $30. After the 14th, the cost increases to $35. All orders must be placed by January 10, 2023, to be guaranteed a book! Any orders placed after January 10th will cost $40 and are subject to availability. Order your book today! 8th-grade students who qualify for financial aid should speak to their guidance counselor about seeing if they qualify for a free book.

4 - Veterans Day Event, Nov. 10th

On Thursday, November 10th students will participate in the annual Kennedy Veterans' day breakfast. Eighth grade students will have the opportunity to speak with active military members, as well as WWII veterans. Prior to the event, students will spend time making posters to give to the veterans at the end of the breakfast. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about history and civics through first hand accounts and a great way for them to connect with the community. We are looking forward to continuing this tradition this year at Kennedy.

5 - UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS for your calendar

• Monday, October 31: Halloween day - costumes allowed at school - see expectations above
• Thursday, November 10: Kennedy annual Veterans' Day Breakfast
• Friday, November 11: Veterans' Day - NO SCHOOL
• Wednesday, November 16: Release Day - Parent teacher conferences
• Wednesday, November 23: Release Day - Thanksgiving break
• Thursday, November 24: Thanksgiving holiday - NO SCHOOL
• Friday, November 25: NO SCHOOL
• Monday, November 28: NILS Teacher Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL

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. They are working diligently to bring great activities to our school community. Please 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