Kennedy Cougars

Dear Kennedy Families and Caregivers,

Thank you to all of the families who have communicated about the emergency false alarm and our drill on Monday. We have met as a faculty with School Resource Officer, Keven Kelly and Director of Safety for NPS, Jim Caimano to debrief about our protocols and procedures in all types of events. We will be doing more drills in the future in a variety of emergency situations to ensure students feel confident in the protocols here at Kennedy. We appreciate the feedback received and are making adjustments as needed to our process as safety of students in the building is our number one concern.

**NEW Seminar from Spark Kindness:

Growing Up in Public: Navigating Reputation and Social Media in the Digital Age

Thursday, April 13 at 7pm via Zoom -- For parents, caregivers, educators, and community members of all ages

In this talk, author Devorah Heitner, PhD, will share pragmatic, research-based advice on how we can mentor our kids on cultivating a healthy online presence. She will address why character and learning how to navigate relationships are most important and how parents can stop stressing and focus instead on helping young people become responsible digital citizens. ASL interpretation will be provided at this event Register and learn more about this FREE online program and all our upcoming events at www.SPARKKindness.org

Upcoming MCAS schedule

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

Positivity Project News

This week our school community will be focusing on the character strength of Perseverance. Perseverance means you complete what you start despite obstacles. You never give up.

The concept of perseverance can most often be found in one’s active pursuit of overcoming obstacles. Perseverance is a uniquely human characteristic that identifies an individual’s ability to spend long periods of time devoted to a single goal or set of goals. People demonstrating high levels of perseverance can handle significant, sometimes repeated, setbacks in pursuit of goals.

To practice and encourage the character strength of Perseverance 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 perseverance letter for families for this week's character strength.

From our town partners:

All Aboard! Public input requested for accessible cycling.

The Town of Natick is launching a trial program for accessible/adaptive cycling on the Cochituate Rail Trail, and we need your input. Thanks to grant funding from the MetroWest Health Foundation and the MathWorks Community Grant Program, Natick will be acquiring an accessible bicycle and a storage unit, and setting up a program in 2023 to offer rides to people with disabilities. To help us get started, we have launched a survey to ask…

• What style of bicycle would work for you or a family member/friend?
• Are you interested in being a volunteer?
• Do you have any questions or advice?

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey by Friday, April 14. If you are not able to complete the survey, you can contact Melissa Carter, Coordinator of Adaptive Programs for Recreation and Parks at mcarter@natickma.org.

All Aboard is being launched in partnership with the Friends of Natick Trails and the Natick Public Schools.

All Aboard Accessible Cycling Community Input

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. The weather is looking more spring-like every day.

Regards,

Jodie Cohen, Principal

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other."

~ Walter Elliot

Twitter - @KennedyMSNatick

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

#weR1Kennedy

#hearusROAR

#cougarpride
#positivityinaction

La Manie Musicale 2023 is enhancing French programs around the world by increasing engagement, promoting la francophonie, connecting our students to an international community of French learners from 23 countries, facilitating some of the best support and professional development to French teachers, generating contests and platforms for students, providing a broader audience to francophone artists, making March the best month for almost a half a million participants! Vive la Manie Musicale, the powerful non-profit project!

1 - Upcoming Events:

• Wednesday, April 12 - Professional Development Day, Early Release 11:30 am
• Monday, April 17-Friday, April 21 - No School (April break)

2 - Step Up Night for 8th Graders Notification:

WEDNESDAY, April 26, 2023 At 6:30 p.m. In the Natick High School Auditorium

Please join us for this informative program where you will meet various members of the high school community. You will hear about the transition from Middle School to High School, as well as visit an Activity/Club Fair and a Sports Fair. Building tours will be offered throughout the evening program. (See picture below for invitation)

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

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

4 - 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

5 - 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