Cougar Connect

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Dear Kennedy Community,

It has been such a joy to welcome our students and families back on campus this week. The energy, smiles, and sense of community were a great reminder of why our school is such a special place.

I also want to take a moment to thank you for your partnership as we begin this school year as a phone-free campus. With the support of Yondr pouches, our students will now spend their school days fully engaged with learning and with one another—without the distraction of phones. This is a big shift, and I am truly grateful for your support in helping us create a stronger learning environment for every student.

We are off to a wonderful start, and I look forward to the many successes ahead.

Please read the newsletter for an update from the Boys and Girls Club, information about virtual mental health options for students, a dental clinic this Wednesday, Teo (an emotional support dog), our Second Harvest food distribution, and our practice evacuation drill.

The Kennedy office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Phone Contact: (650) 482-2409

Principal: Chandra Leonardo cleonardo@rcsdk8.net

Assistant Principal: Dr. Shanna Laney slaney@rcsdk8.net

Assistant Principal: Enrique Pin epin@rcsdk8.net

Office Manager: Liz Avalos lmavalos@rcsdk8.net

Office Assistant (Attendance): Jessica Perez jpperez@rcsdk8.net

Office Assistant (Student Records, Student Health): Maritza Gutierrez mggutierrez@rcsdk8.net

Have a great week!

Chandra Leonardo

Principal

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Please remember that all white curbs are bus drop off and pick up areas. Please avoid parking in these areas between 7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m.

Also, please remember to not block neighbors' driveways or park in their driveways.

Thank you!

☀️AUGUST: Building Our Community & Classroom Culture

Start Strong: Relationships, Routines, & Respect

• ELAC Information Meeting RESCHEDULED to September 4

• Food Distribution Day for Families Aug. 21 Blacktop 2:30-4:00 p.m.

• PTO Meeting Aug. 26 Room 101/Zoom 7:00-8:30 p.m.

• 6th-8th Grade Ice Cream Social Aug. 27 Blacktop 5:30-7:30 p.m.

• 6th-Grade Info Session Aug. 27 Gym 6:00-6:30 p.m.

• 7th-Grade Meeting (Yosemite & Grand Canyon) Aug. 27 Gym 6:30-7:15 p.m.

• 8th-Grade Meeting (Graduation & Yosemite) Aug. 27 Gym 7:15-8:00 p.m.

i-Ready District Assessment in ELA-Math Aug. 25-Sept. 12

🏈Redwood City PRCS Flag Football & Volleyball Registration August 1-August 29🏐

🏀Redwood City PRCS Basketball Registration August 1-October 30🏀

All events are subject to change. Please read the weekly newsletter for updates. Click here to view the Calendar of Events.

Our Kennedy PTO has added our Calendar of Events to their website. You can click the link on the calendar to add all Kennedy events to your own Google Calendar. Click here to view and add these events to your calendar.

We will practice our emergency procedures with all students and staff on Friday, August 22 from 9:20-9:30 a.m.

Hi! My name is Teo. When you see me on campus, I am working, but I’d love to say hi! Please ask Mr. Ruben if I can take a break before petting me. Thanks for

understanding!

Hello BGCP Kennedy families,

We hope everyone had an amazing first week of school! It was great getting to see returning students and meeting our new 6th graders. Wanted to share some reminders around our program attendance:

Students are expected to attend the full-day program every day. This enables our students to experience the full program.

• We noticed many early pick-ups last week. If students need to leave early due to appointments, please ensure that they provide documentation. This will excuse your student for the early pick.

For any students who have not yet attended the program. It’s essential that they begin attending this week, as per our attendance policy. Due to our waitlist, if students do not attend our program, they might be removed to provide a space for a student who can commit to attending.

• We appreciate families who’ve communicated in advance about students’ late start.

We’re excited to be able to serve your students in our program this year. Students attending ensure that we receive the necessary funding to continue to provide the free program. If any questions come up, please feel free to contact our BGCP office at (650) 804-9045.

Please note: Kennedy office staff are not always able to answer questions about BGCP. Please call our office or send an email for support. The BGCP office is on the corner of Connecticut and Washington streets. The closest address to our office is 2503 Washington Avenue.

Thank you for being a valued partner of BGCP Kennedy!

Email: kennedy@bgcp.org

Call or text: (650) 804-9045

Kennedy students will have nightly math and reading homework. If your student says they do not have homework or they finished their homework, please ask them to show you what they completed or worked on during the day.

All 6th grade students will have planners, and they will write in their planners. Students will also have homework folders with sections for assignments to complete and assignments to turn in.

Your student should have at least one reading book at their reading level that they enjoy reading. They will also have texts to read in their English language arts, ELD, and/or Expository Reading & Writing classes.

Dear Kennedy Community,

Thank you for joining us for the Yondr presentation on Monday, August 11, 2025. We are excited to make Kennedy a cell phone-free zone for students in order to increase their academic success.

Listed below are a few links for you if you were unable to attend the Zoom meeting.

Recorded Presentation (English and Spanish)

Google Slides (English and Spanish)

Yondr Parent Letter for Families (English and Spanish)

Kennedy Student Cell Phone Policy (English and Spanish)

If your student brings their cell phone to school, they will put it in airplane mode or turn it off. Then, they will place it in the Yondr pouch. Teachers will have magnets to unlock pouches in case of an emergency. Students will be able to unlock their phones after school in front of the office, near the bike rack, and on the blacktop.

Smartwatches can be worn as long as they are in airplane mode. Earbuds should only be used in class for assignments given by a teacher. If students use their smartwatches or earbuds during the day, they will be asked to place them in their Yondr pouch.

If your student requires a phone for medical purposes, they will be issued a medical Yondr pouch.

Pouches will be distributed during first period tomorrow (Wednesday, August 13) morning.

We understand that this process will not be smooth for the first week, but our Kennedy students are adaptable and amazing. We are confident that they will adjust quickly and follow our new protocols.

As always, thank you for your support, patience, and understanding.

Make it a great day to be a Kennedy Cougar!

Returning families will have access to PowerSchool beginning Wednesday, August 13. New families will receive PowerSchool Access IDs and passwords by Monday, August 25.

Please be sure to check your student's grades and attendance on a weekly basis. This is one of the most important ways for you to support your student. Teachers will routinely reach out to families by phone call, email, and text message, but the expectation is that all parents and guardians check PowerSchool to review their student's progress.

We will host PowerSchool parent workshops in September, so if you need assistance with PowerSchool, we will support you.

Teachers are expected to update grades every two weeks. All teachers will share their classroom syllabus and grading policies at Back to School Night on Thursday, September 11. Please add this date to your calendar. This will be a great evening for our community to connect with one another and for new and returning families to meet Kennedy's teaching staff.

A digital Maze Day packet has been created for your convenience. It includes links and QR Codes for our Family and Student Handbook, Kennedy's dress code and cell phone policies, the calendar of events for the year, the bell schedules, information about school supplies, reminders about attendance, information about the Grand Canyon and Yosemite field trips, information from the PTO, the SamTrans bus schedule, and more.

You can find the Maze Day packet by clicking here.

One of the great things about Kennedy is that we are a full, comprehensive middle school. Students can choose their electives.

We have increased enrollment and are attempting to determine whether we need to add new elective offerings to our schedule. We also need to ensure that classes are balanced.

During the first 10 days of school, we will not make schedule changes unless a student is missing a class or has multiple of the same class.

We often get asked why students were placed in an elective they didn't choose. This means their top three courses were full, or the class was not offered due to a change in staffing.

We will not change classes so that students can be with friends or for a preferred teacher. Thank you for your understanding.

Students need to listen to the morning announcements to know how they may request a schedule change after the first 10 days of school.

Kennedy gates open at 8:05 a.m. Students need to be dropped off in the main front parking lot and enter the black gates near the end of the driveway and drop-off zone. They can also be dropped off at the Washington Avenue gate.

Campus supervisors begin supervising students at 8:05 a.m. Students will not be allowed to enter campus before 8:05 a.m. without supervision. Students should refrain from loitering in groups in front of the school and near our neighbors' yards.

As you drop off your students, please be aware of students crossing the street. Please remind your students to walk their bikes and scooters on sidewalks. Please refrain from pulling in and out of neighbors' driveways.

White-painted curbs along Goodwin, Connecticut, Maddux, and Washington Avenues are also drop-off zones. Please be aware of the bus loading zones. Avoid parking in the bus zone on Goodwin Avenue near the school office. Avoid parking in the SamTrans loading zone on Washington Avenue. Kennedy staff will ask drivers to move if they are parked in loading zones before buses arrive.

For safety reasons, students have two entry points in the morning between 8:05 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. After 8:30 am., students must enter through the front office for a late pass.

At dismissal, students can exit from any unlocked gate. If you are picking up your student, be sure to tell them where you plan to pick them up.

Students can lock bikes and scooters in the bike rack near the B-Quad and main entry and exit. The bike rack closes at 8:30 am. Skateboards can be left in the back of the school office on the skateboard rack and picked up after school.

Students should practice bicycle, skateboard, and scooter safety while traveling to and from school. Bicycles, skateboards, and scooters should not be ridden on campus. Kennedy staff will ask students to walk all bikes, skateboards, and scooters until they exit the campus.

Please wear a helmet!

Public transportation is provided through SamTrans. Route 79 is for Kennedy students. In the mornings, students are dropped off by 8:15 a.m. In the afternoons, students are picked up by 3:25 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Thursday afternoons, students are picked up by 2:00 pm.

The SamTrans bus stop is located on Washington Avenue near the Boys and Girls Club entrance. Kennedy staff will guide students to the bus stop and monitor them after school until SamTrans arrives.

The SamTrans bus schedule can be found here.

If you need assistance with bus passes, please contact our Kennedy Family Center. You can also contact Cynthia Cardona if you need assistance with Redwood City School District bus transportation. Cynthia can be reached here: 650-482-2409 ext. 3484 or ccardona@rcsdk8.net.

Students should not use their cell phones or have them on during the school day. Cell phones will be placed in Yondr pouches. AirPods/earbuds should be used for class assignments only. Smartwatches need to be in airplane mode. Students should not use their watches during the school day.

Students will face consequences if they use their cell phones to record students and staff.

If you need to contact your student during the day, email our office staff so that we can send the message to your student: lmavalos@rcsdk8.net, jpperez@rcsdk8.net, mggutierrez@rcsdk8.net.

We want students to be able to express themselves with their attire, but we also want a school environment free of distractions. Students need to wear shoes appropriate for P.E. Crocs and open-toed shoes and shoes without a strap should not be worn. Clothing that references drugs, gangs, alcohol, substance abuse, vulgar language, or sexual connotations are not allowed.

We also want students to wear pants, skirts, and shorts that cover their underwear and private body parts.

• The Redwood City School District has been sending out email reminders to complete the First Day of School registration packet. These forms are digital.

• We need 100% of all Kennedy families to complete these forms by August 13th.

• The First Day of School packet includes emergency contact information, parent permission forms, state funding for district services, and district policies.

• The Student Benefit Form is embedded in the First Day of School Packet. Completing this form is very important for our school as it will determine funding for our after-school program. The Student Benefit Form determines resources and services for our students in a variety of areas, in addition to children having access to healthy and nutritious meals at school. Depending on the number of families who complete the survey, it will determine several other services and resources, such as school library services, school funding, internet access, and teacher grants.

• If you need assistance, you can also stop by the Kennedy Office from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for support.

Attendance is important at Kennedy. We continue to improve our attendance rates, and our goal this year is to improve our attendance by 5%. Students need to be at school on time every day. Please schedule doctor's appointments after school and schedule vacations and trips during RCSD's scheduled breaks.

If your student must be absent, caregivers are expected to notify our office staff by calling our attendance line and leaving a message. You may also email the details of your student's absence to Ms. Perez: jpperez@rcsdk8.net.

Click here to read Kennedy's attendance policy and guidelines.

Remember

• Calling in an absence does not mean the absence is excused. An absence is excused if a student is ill, has a medical need, must attend a funeral of an immediate family member, or for religious reasons. You may view the California Ed Code policy on excused absences here. If a student's absences do not meet these guidelines, the absence is unexcused.

• Absences must be called in during the week the absence occurs. We are unable to change or update absences after the school week ends.

• A doctor's note is required after two days of illness.

• Truancy letters are generated by our district and are sent to families.

• Caregivers should check PowerSchool weekly to ensure attendance is accurate.

In order to make our handbook for students and families more accessible, we have digitized it. Please know that the information in the handbook will be continually updated to ensure families are informed.

Click to view and save the Kennedy Student & Family Handbook.

Please be sure to turn in your vaccination records for your seventh-grade students. Students who have not submitted their vaccinations will not be allowed to attend school. Click the link to learn more from the California Department of Public Health.

With a commitment to excellence, Kennedy Middle School engages, encourages, and empowers students in challenging and creative learning opportunities while preparing them for their futures in high school and beyond.

Website: https://www.rcsdk8.net/kennedy
Location: 2521 Goodwin Avenue, Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone: 650.482.2409
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennedymiddleschool