Cougar Connect

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Dear Kennedy Community:

Before moving into this week’s newsletter, I want to thank the Kennedy community for the many kind messages and words of support I received after sharing that I will be taking a leave of absence for the 2026–27 school year. Your thoughtful emails and encouragement have meant so much to my family and me. While this transition is bittersweet, I remain deeply grateful to serve such a caring and supportive community. I look forward to continuing our work together for the remainder of this school year.

Here are this week's updates:

Reminders

• No school on Friday, March 13 in Lieu of Lincoln's birthday.
• No school for students on Monday, March 16 due to teacher professional development.
• Trimester three has started! Trimester two grades will be finalized on March 10, and report cards and i-Ready reports will be mailed home to families this week.
• Kennedy teachers will reach out to families of students who earned final grades of D+, D, D-, or F for their trimester two grade in order to schedule a parent-teacher conference during the week of March 16.
• Have you purchased a yearbook for your Kennedy Cougar? Visit Tree Ring to purchase a yearbook today!

• Website link: https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1015926081674110

  Kennedy Code: 1015926081674110

• Sign up with parent or guardian email. Enter the student's name for the yearbook order.

• Over the next few PE classes, our students will participate in educational sessions facilitated by the San Mateo Addiction Education Society as part of their “How Did This Happen to Me?” / Neuroscience of Addiction program. This program is designed specifically for middle and high school students and focuses on helping young people understand how substances affect the brain and why addiction can develop. The curriculum is grounded in neuroscience and aims to give students the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about alcohol, nicotine, vaping, and other drugs (addictioneducationsociety.org). If you have questions, please reach out to your student's 7th grade PE teacher or our mental health counselor, Ms. Kathryn.

1. Mr. Murillo emurillo@rcsdk8.net
2. Mr. Blomquist iblomquist@rcsdk8.net
3. Ms. Kathryn klige@rcsdk8.net

Attendance Contact

When attendance concerns arise, please email Maritza Gutierrez or Kimberly Fajardo. They will update your student's attendance.

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): Maritza Gutierrez mggutierrez@rcsdk8.net

Office Assistant (Student Records, Student Health): Kimberly Fajardo kfajardo@rcsdk8.net

504 Plans, Academic Support, & Attendance Support: Jessica McMillen jmcmillen@rcsdk8.net

Have a great week!

Chandra Leonardo

Principal

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We’re excited to share a special opportunity made possible through our school’s partnership with WholeSchool Mindfulness. MasterClass (an online learning platform with high-quality courses on topics like mindfulness, cooking, creativity, leadership, and more) has provided WholeSchool Mindfulness with an in-kind grant of free accounts.

Our community is eligible for a free 1-year MasterClass account for adults. This is offered at no cost to you.

To claim your free account

• Fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfCVYMt365zEet0yiswyb4XGqvG6BIgpBihC2FK8M0xMrPrUg/viewform?usp=dialog
• You’ll receive an email activation code within a week.

• WholeSchool Mindfulness is an awesome organization! Follow their journey on social media and stay connected to their work.

Planning for our next Color Run on May 8, 2026, is underway and we need your help!

• Prizes – Coordinating prizes and creating prize sheets for the day of the raffle, and helping Ms. Leonardo announce winners

• T-shirts & Sunglasses – Sign up for any task or all!

• Sending logos to Goetz

• Ordering a Thank You sponsors banner

• Obtaining T-shirt sizes from the school and ordering T-shirts and sunglasses

• Pickup & delivery of T-shirts to school

• Setting up parents to prep for class handout

Please contact Krista (kcuschieri54@gmail.com).

In an effort to offset event costs, we will partner with local businesses to help sponsor the biggest school fundraiser. We are looking for companies that would be interested in sponsoring the Color Run. Sponsorships are 100% tax-deductible, and the company's logos will be on the back of the Color Run t-shirts.

We offer two levels of Sponsorship:

Primary Sponsor – $1,500
• Limited to 2 spots (one spot remains)

• Larger logo placement above secondary sponsors

Secondary Sponsor – $300
• Smaller logo placement below primary sponsors

If you know of a company that may be interested — or if your own business would like to participate — we would love to connect!

Please reach out to:
Melinda Moye – melindakayemoye@gmail.com
Allison Fujimoto – amfujimoto@gmail.com

Thank you for helping support our Kennedy students and community!

The following volunteer options are open. Please consider volunteering:

• Co-communications Chair- Create fliers for events and school activities, and help post events on our social media accounts. (est. time commitment- 4 hours per month)

• Teacher/Staff Appreciation Team Lead – This position coordinates our monthly teacher & staff appreciation activities (e.g., lunch, special treats, etc.). (est. time commitment- 2 hours per month)

• Student Celebrations (birthday, honor roll, Students of the Month)- This position plans our birthday, honor roll, and Students of Month activities (estimated time commitment- 2 hours per month)

If you can’t volunteer for one of these items, complete this Kennedy parent volunteer form to let us know how you can help!

We are getting ready for our next Career Day and looking for parents/guardians to serve as group guides for our 8th Grade Career Day on Thursday, March 26 from 8:00 AM–2:00 PM.

The volunteers will accompany a small group of students as they rotate around campus, learning about different careers and participating in engaging enrichment activities. Your role is to help keep students together, on schedule, and engaged throughout the day, and most importantly, to help make the experience fun and meaningful!

To ensure student safety, all volunteers must be fingerprinted and cleared through the district prior to the event. If you are not yet fingerprinted, we can provide information on how to complete this process.

This is a wonderful opportunity to support our students as they explore their interests and begin thinking about their future pathways.

If you are available and interested in volunteering, please contact Cynthia Cardona at ccardona@rcsdk8.net. We would love to have you join us!

Thank you to 8th-grade parents who have donated or signed up to help with the planning or decorating for the graduation dance, for Great America or 8th grade special trip, and with the graduation gowns. This contribution also includes the 8th-grade sweatshirt, pictured above

Remember that we need parents to donate and volunteer to make all of these activities happen. You can contribute via PayPal here or drop off donations at the office. Volunteer to support our 8th-grade activities here: Kennedy 8th Grade Events & Activities - Parent Volunteer Form. Questions? email: 8thgrade+managers@kennedycougarspto.org

For parents and by parents at Kennedy! Learn about what is going on around campus and within the parent community. Join grade level groups, event committees and meet other parents. All Kennedy families are welcome!

Go to: https://bit.ly/kmswhatsapp

(must have a WhatsApp account to join)

Our next PTO Meeting is Tuesday, March 24 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Library. Please join us in person or via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94614875671 Meeting ID: 946 1487 5671

Have an idea or a question? Email info@kennedycougarsPTO.org

Don’t forget to check out our website: https://kennedycougarspto.org/

Each month, families can download and read the Parent Institute newsletter. Each newsletter provides tips and updates for families about how to support their Kennedy Middle School student.

Join SEPTAR's Association Meeting on March 17 at 7pm on Zoom. We are very excited to have Detective Kyle Ballard, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, with us to present on the topic "Navigating Disability and Mental Health with Law Enforcement." You will learn about how the Sheriffs are trained to work with the disabled and mental health issues, you will learn how to teach your child about law enforcement officers, and you will learn what the Project Guardian program offers. Spanish interpretation is provided. Register: https://bit.ly/SEPTAR-031726

Kennedy Clubs are created by students and advised by teachers. Student sign up is not required to join a club. Students can attend clubs during their lunchtime. If a club meets after school, students can attend. All Kennedy students are encouraged to join a club.

Mondays

• 6th Grade Board Game Club: Meets in room B-5 at lunch

• 7th & 8th Grade Crafts Club: Meets in room 535 at lunch

• 6th Grade K-Pop Club: Meets in Room 211 at lunch

• 7th & 8th Grade Lunch Bunch: Meets in Room 207 at lunch

Tuesdays

• 7th & 8th Grade FIFA Champions League: Meets in room 424 at lunch

• 7th & 8th Grade Ping Pong: Meets in room 208 at lunch

• 7th & 8th Grade Bible Break Club: Meets in room 317 at lunch

• 7th & 8th Grade Hispanic Heritage Club: Meets in room 315 at lunch

• 7th & 8th Grade Science Olympiad: Meets in room 535 at lunch

• 6th Grade Crafts Club: Meets in room 103 at lunch

• 6th Grade Lunch Bunch: Meets in room 207 at lunch

• 6th Grade Chess Club: Meets in room B-5 at lunch

• All grades: Girls Who Code: Meets after school in room 530

• All grades: Science Olympiad: Meets after school in room 535

Wednesdays

• 7th/8th Grade: FIFA Champions in Room 424 at lunch

• 7th/8th Grade: Chess Club in Room 535

• 7th/8th Grade: Make Your Own Book Club in Room 314

• 6th Grade: Art Club in Room 526

• 7th/8th Grade: Art Club in Room 527

Thursdays

• 7th/8th Grade: Wellness Club in room 207 at lunch

• 7th/8th Grade: Origami Club in room 314 at lunch

• 7th/8th Grade: Board Game Club in room 106 at lunch

• 7th/8th Grade: Math Support in room 106 at lunch

• 6th Grade: Lunch Bunch in room 207 at lunch

• 6th Grade: Crochet Club in room B-6 at lunch

• 6th Grade: Video Game Club in room 102 at lunch

• All: Friends for Youth in room 211

Fridays

• 6th Grade: Loteria Club in room B-8 at lunch

• 6th Grade: Anime/Comic Club in room B-5 at lunch

• 7th/8th Grade: Environmental Club in room 535 at lunch

☘️MARCH: Leadership & Impact☘️

Make Your Mark

• In Lieu of Lincoln’s Day ~ No School March 13 All Day
• Planning Day ~ No School Mar. 16 All Day

• Spring Conferences ~ Minimum Days Mar. 17-20 In-Person 1:50 p.m.
• ELAC Meeting Mar. 19 Library 6:00-7:00 p.m.
• Food Distribution Day for Families Mar. 19 Blacktop 2:30-4:00 p.m.
• Spring Dance Mar. 20 Gym 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• PTO Meeting Mar. 24 Library/Zoom 7:00-8:30 p.m.
• School Site Council Mar. 25 Zoom 5:00-6:00 p.m.

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.

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.

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.

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