Kennedy Cougars

Dear Kennedy Families and Caregivers,

The year is flying by as we get ready for our final push to the finish line. Grade 8 teachers and students are working hard planning their end of the year activities. Grade 6 is planning for their museum of science field trip. We are all feeling grateful for all of the wonderful work going on here at Kennedy. Next week is teacher appreciation week and we are really excited for our teacher appreciation luncheon sponsored by our Kennedy PTO. We sure are feeling the love and support over here. THANK YOU!!!

Guest lecturer presents to Grade 7:

On Wednesday, our school community welcomed Holocaust survivor Janet Applefield to speak to our students. This was truly an amazing opportunity for students to hear personal testimony from a survivor, and to enrich their learning as part of our Holocaust & Human Behavior unit in Social Studies. Thank you for sharing your story with Kennedy Middle School. We are truly grateful.

News from Natick 180 (see pic below):

May is mental health awareness month. Check out the webinars and trainings being offered from Natick 180 below:

Here are the links to register for all of the Mental Health Awareness Month webinars or trainings.

May 8th | 7PM - 8:30PM ET: Mental Health Essentials Webinar for Parents and Caregivers

Registration Link: https://karenspilka.com/mentalhealth

May 17th | 6:30PM - 7:30PM ET: Youth Discuss Living Through a Mental Health Crisis Webinar

Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rduCsrTopEtJdxZ_6YDGsxBN2rt2vadha

May 24th | 6PM - 8PM ET: QPR Suicide Prevention Training

Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19eyCh-EcrUfNzb5gf8hcQO0YDJaHDeRfT-kB2yPCd4U/edit

Grade 8 Activities:

Letters were sent out via school messenger to 8th grade families on Thursday, May 4th, with information about the end of the year programming for 8th grade. In case you missed it, here is the list of activities we have planned for our amazing 8th grade students:

Thursday, June 8th: 8th Grade Social (6:00 pm - 8:00 pm) Cost: Free

This takes place in the Kennedy cafeteria and includes a DJ and light refreshments organized by Kennedy Student Leadership and sponsored by the KMS Parent Teacher Organization.

Tuesday, June 13th: 8th grade Field Day at Cole Center, Natick:

8th grade teams will spend the day at Cole Fields participating in games and team building activities.

Tuesday, June 13th: Laptop & Library Book Collection:

Students must return their Chromebook and charger as well as any school library books.

Wednesday, June 14th: Promotional Ceremonies at Kennedy Middle School

More specific details to follow.

Thursday, June 15th: 8th Grade Breakfast and Celebration:

Breakfast celebration provided by KMS Food Services, student throwback video presentation in the auditorium, yearbook signing event on the front lawn (weather permitting), and traditional “Clap Out” for 8th graders through Kennedy Hallways.

Attendance Reminders:

• Tardies related to health appointments will be excused when a provider note is submitted listing the date of the visits.
• Absences due to illness or medical care will be excused when you submit a written note from a health provider.
• Absences due to travel cannot be excused.
• Absences which were not called in by a parent/guardian will generate an automated call or call from school personnel when they do not call the attendance line.

Natick Instrument Showcase at Natick High School

The Natick Music Department will be hosting our next Instrument Showcase for students interested in joining band or orchestra on Tuesday, June 13th from 5:00-7:00 PM at NHS. (See graphic below)

School Year 2023/2024

In the next month (May 2023), we will begin our scheduling process for next school year. If there is information that you would like to share regarding your child's particular learning style, we ask you to put that in writing to us no later than April 28th. Email is fine: Please send to our front office administration assistant, Joyce MacGregor: jmacgregor@natickps.org

MCAS schedule

A picture of the upcoming MCAS schedule can be found below.

Athletics Update

• Track & Field lost to WIlson 81-62

• Boys Volleyball defeats Stacey MS (Milford) 2-0

Positivity Project News

This week our school community will be focusing on the Other People Mindset of Cheering Others’ Successes. This means when other people succeed, I am happy for them and cheer them on.

Being happy for other people when they succeed isn’t always everyone’s initial reaction. Often, it’s easy to become jealous or envious of others’ victories -- or even to experience schadenfreude, which is deriving pleasure from witnessing (or learning about) another person’s misfortune. People who have these reactions to the success or misfortune of others are colloquially known as “haters.” It’s important to note that these are natural emotions and in small doses can be helpful in allowing us to see what we care about -- and motivate us to pursue those goals.

To practice and encourage the character strength of OPM - Cheering others' successes with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2), where together you will watch a video, read a quote, and talk about the answers to three questions.

Here is the OPM - cheering others' successes letter for families for this week's character strength.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,

Regards,

Jodie Cohen, Principal

"I cheer for people. I was raised to believe there is enough sun for everybody."

~Tracee Ellis Ross

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

#weR1Kennedy

#hearusROAR

#cougarpride
#positivityinaction

1 - Upcoming Events:

• May 17 - Professional Development Day - Early release at 11:30am
• May 29 - Memorial Day Holiday - No School
• May 31 - Grade 5 & 7 Chorus Concert - 6:30-8:00pm
• June 1 - Grade 6 & 8 Chorus Concert - 6:30-8:00pm
• June 2 - Grade 5 Step Up Day
• June 6 - Grade 5 & 7 Band Concert - 6:30-8:00pm
• June 7 - Grade 6 & 8 Band Concert - 6:30-8:00pm
• June 8 - Last for late buses and vans (except for the ASAP program for our van students)
• June 15 - Last day of school. Early release all schools!

2 - Grade 8 to 9 Transition to Natick High School Timeline

Here is the link to the Grade 8 to 9 Transition Timeline.

3 - From the Nurses Health Clinic:

If your student tests positive for Covid-19, they must stay home for 5 days. The day they started symptoms is Day 0, the next day is Day 1, then Day 2, etc. They may return to school on Day 6 and must wear a mask for an additional 5 days. A headache, scratchy throat, congestion/runny nose, cough, and/or fever are some of the more common symptoms of Covid-19.

Siblings and close contacts do not need to quarantine and can come to school as long as they are not having symptoms of illness. However, they must wear a mask for 10 days when around others following exposure.

Click for more information from the Massachusetts DPH: Covid-19 Isolation and Exposure Guidance

4 - Information notification letters about math placement

For information about the math placement process, please see the letters below.

22-23 6th to 7th opening placement letter

22-23 7th to 8th opening placement letter

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