Kennedy Cougars

Happy Friday, Kennedy Families!

October has been a busy and meaningful month at Kennedy as we continue to strengthen teaching and learning, build a strong sense of belonging, and establish shared expectations for our school community. From our ongoing work to support academic growth and engaging classroom instruction to our schoolwide Advisory lessons focused on student rights, responsibilities, and the Natick Code of Conduct, we are focused on ensuring that every student feels known, supported, challenged, and valued. Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together to help all Kennedy students learn, belong, and thrive. In this week’s newsletter, you’ll find updates on these efforts, along with important news and reminders from across our school community.

Halloween at Kennedy 🎃
We’re excited to celebrate Halloween at Kennedy in two short weeks! Students are welcome to wear costumes to school on Friday, October 30th; however, masks or costumes that prevent staff from identifying students will not be allowed, as safety is always our top priority. Please be sure that all makeup and costume accessories are applied at home before school begins. Costumes should also be comfortable and appropriate for learning—students will be expected to participate fully in classes and regular school activities throughout the day. Please be sure to keep any costume accessories that resemble weapons of any type at home. We look forward to a fun and festive day that showcases creativity while keeping our focus on safety and learning!

Building a Shared Understanding of Our Code of Conduct

This week, students across Kennedy participated in a schoolwide Advisory lesson focused on student rights and responsibilities as we begin implementing Natick’s new Code of Conduct. Through discussion and a collaborative matching activity, students explored seven key areas: safety, quality education, equity, student voice and expression, respect and care, attendance, and participation. These conversations lay the groundwork for building a school community where students understand both their rights and their responsibilities in helping create a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment. A special thank-you to Vice Principals Megan Hatt and Tim Cesarini for designing these lessons and helping establish a strong foundation for this important work!

We will continue this work in Advisory in the coming weeks with additional lessons focused on anti-bullying, anti-bias, and anti-discrimination. We look forward to building on these important conversations and will keep families informed as this work progresses.

A quick, friendly reminder from the Physical Education Department:

As we move further into the fall season, PE classes will continue to be held outdoors for the next several weeks. Students should come prepared with warm clothing and appropriate layers, as they can expect to spend the majority of class outside.

Thank you for helping our students stay comfortable and prepared!

– PE Team"

Clubs and After School:

Clubs at Kennedy have been going well. If your student is interested in trying something different, here is the current list of clubs. Please make sure to go over the "getting home" plan with your student. The late bus routes have changed to accommodate the increase in students staying after. Here is the LINK to all bus routes for Kennedy Middle School. The late bus routes are all the way at the bottom, the last 3 spreadsheet pages.

What's new from Natick 180:

Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Do you have expired or unused medications, vape pens, or e-cigarettes? Drop them off for free at Prescription Drug Take Back Day so these items can be disposed of properly and safely. The process is quick, easy, and anonymous - no questions asked. See our flyer below...

For questions and more information, contact Natick 180 at natick180@natickma.org

To find a drop off location near you, visit https://www.dea.gov/takebackday.

Makeup Picture Day is scheduled for Thursday, November 19th!

If your child was absent or missed our original Picture Day, we will have a Makeup Picture Day on Thursday, November 19th. This is a great opportunity for students who were not photographed during our original picture day to have their school picture taken. Please mark your calendar for Thursday, November 19th and watch for additional information regarding picture ordering and any forms that may be needed.

Kennedy Athletics

Let's check out what's been happening on the fields, the track, and the courts recently:

Field hockey defeats Needham 5-1

Field hockey defeats Wilson 11-0

Field hockey defeats Needham 7-2

Volleyball defeats Weston 3-0

Volleyball defeats Needham 3-0

Volleyball defeats Wellesley 3-0

Intramural Volleyball defeats Wilson 6-0

Boys Cross Country defeats Wellesley 15-40

Girls Cross Country defeats Wellesley 17-38

Let's go COUGARS!!!!

Reminder About the Staff Parking Lot
We kindly ask parents and caregivers not to use the staff parking lot in the front of the school for student drop-off or pick-up. When cars enter the lot during these busy times, it blocks staff from accessing their parking spaces and, more importantly, creates an unsafe situation for students. This area is not monitored for student arrival, and moving vehicles pose risks we want to avoid. Please help us maintain a smooth and safe start and end to the school day by using the designated family drop-off and pick-up locations only. We truly appreciate your cooperation in keeping all of our students safe.

Bus Safety Reminder

We want to ensure that all students travel to and from school safely each day. To help us do this, students must ride only the bus they are officially assigned. Riding the correct bus helps us account for every child, maintain consistent routes, and avoid overcrowding.

Additionally, ALL grades 5 and 6 students should sit in the front of the bus and let the grades 7 and 8 students sit in the back

Thank you for partnering with us to keep all students safe and ensure our transportation system runs smoothly!

A Friendly Reminder for Drop-Off and Pick-Up 🚗
For the safety of all our students and families, please drive slowly and stop at all crosswalks during drop-off and pick-up. Taking a few extra seconds to follow these precautions helps ensure that everyone—students, staff, and drivers—stays safe. Your careful driving makes a big difference in keeping our Kennedy community protected!

Kennedy FAQ's page on Website:

Here is the LINK to frequently asked questions on the Kennedy Website.

Laps at Lunch sign ups:

KMS loves our Laps volunteers. You make it possible for our students to get outside to talk and walk with their friends after lunch. The volunteering investment for Laps is minimal, but the student impact is huge!! If you're able to volunteer or would like more information, please contact Hilary Gidelson or Esther Cohen at kennedylaps@gmail.com, or sign up at the link HERE.

Regards,

Jodie Cohen

Proud Principal of Kennedy

Instagram - @KennedyMSNatick

website - kennedy.natickps.org

Join Spark Kindness for an interactive event, Building Executive Functioning Skills, with nationally recognized executive function expert, educator, and speaker Sarah Ward. Participants will learn how to support young people in organizing materials, managing time, breaking tasks into manageable steps, creating effective routines, and taking greater ownership of their responsibilities.

For parents, caregivers, educators, and community members who support children and teens of all ages.

Monday, October 26th from 7-8:30pm at Kennedy Middle School in Natick. Learn more and register for FREE HERE.

1 - Dismissal from School Information:

Here is a link to the dismissal policy found on our Kennedy website. Please read for a refresher of the guidelines.

2 - UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS for your calendar

• Oct 28 - Annual Title 1 Parent Meeting, Kennedy Auditorium - 6:30 - 7:30pm
• Oct 30 - Halloween day at Kennedy
• Nov 2 - Election Day - voting in Kennedy Gym
• Nov 4 - PD Day - Early Release - 11:30am dismissal
• Nov 11 - Veterans Day - no school
• Nov 25 - Early Release Day - 11:30am dismissal
• Nov 26 & 27 - Thanksgiving Holiday - no school

3 - Directions to view grade reports and ROSPs:

Below are the links to directions to access grade reports and ROSPs in PowerSchool.

VIEWING ROSP (Grade 5) AND GRADE REPORT (Gr. 6-8) DIRECTIONS

For your convenience, here is a link to the Kennedy Trimester Schedule 2025-2026

4 - Drop off and pick up important reminders:

I want to share an important reminder of the rules for driving around the Kennedy Middle School property. These driving regulations are in place to provide a safe environment for all our students as they arrive and leave school. Please follow these guidelines when dropping off or picking up at school:

• ALL drop off during the morning before school and ALL pick up in the afternoon after school will be done around the back of the school at the cafeteria entrance. Please wait in line and only pass other vehicles when a faculty member signals that it is safe to do so.
• Parents/caregivers MUST NOT drop off children in the front parking lot at the beginning of the day. This significantly prohibits faculty the ability to park quickly and enter the building to be ready for your children each day.
• Parents/caregivers MUST NOT wait for their children in the front faculty parking lot next to the buses at end of day dismissal. We understand that everyone is in a rush and it is hard to wait in the pick up line, but ALL PICK UP after school is done IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.
• When picking students up following after school activities (clubs, extra help from teachers, music lessons, etc.), please be aware that the late buses also board students in the back of the building. It is imperative that cars DO NOT PASS while students are boarding the late buses. This is a huge safety concern. Because most teachers are helping students after school, we do not have many staff available outside during the boarding process to ensure the rules are being followed. We are counting on you to help with this process. If you are in the line after the buses start boarding you MUST wait until the students are done boarding (usually takes at most 5 minutes) and leave the property before driving around any buses.

The safety of our Kennedy students is our first priority. By following these simple rules, you will help us keep our student and staff community safe while they are traveling to and from school every day. Thank you for adhering to these guidelines.

Our Kennedy Middle School PTO works hard behind the scenes to support our school in a variety of ways. Check out their website for more information about all PTO sponsored events.

Use this form to report a bullying incident.