Dear Kennedy Community,
I hope you were able to attend one of The Addams Family Young@Part shows this weekend. I attended Friday night’s performance, and I was impressed by Kennedy's students. Ms. Rosenbloom noted that our Kennedy Cougars ran the sound, lighting, and tech behind the scenes. Plus, our dance students opened a show with a dance they choreographed during Ms. Rosenbloom's maternity leave. Our art students were also able to assist with painting the set. A former Kennedy student also assisted with choreography! Our parent producers, Stacie Ciraulo, Nell Douglas, and Jessica Osaki have worked for months to ensure that we were able to have a successful musical. So many family members have supported in various ways: building sets, painting sets, fixing costumes, and more. Thank you! Finally, thank you to our two Kennedy teachers, Ms. Rosenbloom and Mrs. Segal, for working incredibly long hours from fall to spring with our students. Job well done!
Our music, drama, art, STEAM, and elective classes are made possible with additional funding from our Parent Teacher Organization. Your monetary donations allow students to participate in electives and extracurricular activities. This year, our PTO has a $30,000 fundraising goal. The Color Run is our largest fundraising event of the year.
Kennedy Color Run Update
Will you help us reach our $30,000 fundraising goal?
Our first weeks of fundraising are off to a fantastic start, and we are about ⅓ of the way to our goal. Share the link to your student’s personal fundraising page with friends and family (via email, text, Facebook, etc.) and ask them to support our school with a small donation.
A reminder that this is the last week for students to earn raffle tickets! Students will earn one raffle ticket for every $25 collected through May 5th, and they can enter the prize raffle of their choice at the Color Run on May 10. This is the only way to get raffle tickets for a chance to win one of these awesome prizes:
MacBook Air Laptop (Apple M2 Chip, 8 GB) & 3 years Applecare+ coverage
Apple iPad (9th Generation, 10.2-inch screen, 64 GB) & 2 years Applecare+ coverage
Nintendo Switch OLED (The Legend of Zelda theme) & The Legend of Zelda Games (Tears of the Kingdom & Breath of the Wild)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
$50 Cinemark gift card (x2)
$50 Pizza My Heart gift card (x2)
$25 Pizza My Heart gift card & $25 Starbucks gift card
$50 Starbucks gift card
$100 Target gift card
$100 Amazon gift card
$100 Visa gift card
$100 GameStop gift card
Admin for the Day
New this year: guaranteed prizes for hitting fundraising thresholds!
Every grade that hits their combined grade-level goal of $8,500 can wear Crocs to school. 7th grade is just over halfway to this goal. The 6th and 8th grades still have a ways to go.
Every student who raises at least $250 will get In-N-Out delivered to the school for lunch.
Every student who raises at least $500 will also get an ice cream party at school.
Fundraising Page Link to Share: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/kennedycolorrun2024
For additional Color Run details and to see a highlight video from last year, https://kennedycougarspto.org/color-run.
We need VOLUNTEERS! Please sign up here to help:
https://tinyurl.com/KMScolorrunvolunteers
State Testing (CAASPP/SBAC) Begins This Week
State testing begins on Tuesday. Your student must be present at school every day during testing. Students will take the state test in the morning, and we will modify our bell schedule for testing. Please schedule all appointments after school hours. We want every Kennedy student to be present for this important test. Here is our modified schedule. Students will test with their third-period teacher. All IEP and 504 separate setting accommodations will be followed; students will be told on Monday about their separate setting location. If your student has any additional IEP accommodations, we will follow these guidelines as listed in the IEP or 504.
Students need fully charged Chromebooks, so please make sure they charge them each night and bring them to school each day.
Encourage your student to try their best. Ensure they get a good night’s sleep--lights out by 9:00. Thank you for your support!
Here are more important details for this week:
Super-minimum Day Thursday, May 2
Students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm on Thursday. We will still have state testing on Thursday, so even though it is a super-minimum day, make sure your student is at school. Students will begin part one of the ELA performance task on Thursday, and it requires a lot of reading, planning, and writing. The samTrans bus will arrive at its usual time, 2:00.
Principal's Coffee Canceled
Due to testing this week, there will be no Principal's Coffee. I will let you know about May's Principal's Coffee in next week's newsletter.
Best of Bay Area 2024
Kennedy Middle School was nominated for a Best of 2024 award in the middle school category. Take a look at the ballot, and cast your vote here. Voting closes May 19.
Yearbook Update
Kennedy uses Treering to create and sell our yearbooks.
Yearbooks can be purchased online by clicking this link.
If you are asked for a school code, please use Kennedy's code: 1015926081674110.
The yearbook price before taxes is $38.29.
Yearbooks will ship to Kennedy. We will then distribute the yearbooks to students in late May or the first week of June.
Tutoring and Academic Support Opportunities
Students can get drop-in math support on Mondays and Wednesdays with Ms. Le, Mrs. Figueroa, and Ms. Paz in room 533.--Canceled during testing weeks.
Students can reach out to individual teachers to schedule a time to meet during teacher office hours.
Students with IEPs and identified learning disabilities can get targeted intervention and support from
College Advising Prep (CAP). Please reach out to Michelle Fryer Phan for additional information at mfryerphan@rcsdk8.net.
We also partner with Healthy Cities Tutoring. Students can get individual support from a volunteer once a week. Please contact our Kennedy Family Center for more information about Healthy Cities Tutoring kennedyfc@rcsdk8.net.
Missing Assignment Study Hall (MASH) is held after school once per week in the Kennedy Library for any student who is currently earning an overall D+, D, D-, or F in any class. We will have time dedicated to support students with missing assignments, test corrections, essays, etc. Our Kennedy admin team will support students during this time. Students will meet in the library after school from 3:15 to 4:15 pm.
Reminders for 8th-grade Families
Our next event for 8th-graders is the annual trip to Great America. Students must have a cumulative 2.0 GPA and no behavior problems to attend this field trip. Kennedy staff will accompany students on the field trip. We plan to leave Kennedy at 9:00 and return by 5:00 pm. We will have more details to send home by the second week of May.
Join us in the Kennedy Library at 5:30 pm to hear about summer opportunities for your future 9th-grader. Check out the flyer below for more details.
Please be reminded that your 8th-grade students were given a letter in November that explained Kennedy's expectations for students to participate in 8th-grade activities and the promotion ceremony. The letter was supposed to be read by students and their families. Then, a signed acknowledgment form was to be submitted by December 1. 8th-Grade Letter
Our 8th-grade Promotion Ceremony is Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at 6:00 pm on the Kennedy field.
A cumulative GPA of 2.0 is required to participate in all 8th-grade activities and the ceremony. Please be sure to check your student's grades each week.
Please refer to this newsletter with information from the 8th-grade information night.
Student Clubs Meeting This Week
Math Homework Support canceled during testing
Volleyball Intramurals begin on Tuesday.
Writing Club during 7th/8th grade lunch on Monday in room 318
6th-Grade Gaming Club Monday at lunch in room 102
Book Club Tuesday after school in the library
6th-Grade Student Council Reps Tuesday at lunch in room 103
Italian Club after school in room 318 on Tuesday
Makerspace and Robotics Club Tuesday during 6th-grade lunch in room 104
Wellness Club Tuesday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 636
7th & 8th-Grade Lunch Bunch Wednesday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 636
K-Pop Club Wednesday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 208
Rock Band Club after school on Wednesday in room 314
Chess Club Wednesday during 6th-grade lunch in the library
D&D Wednesday during 6th-grade lunch in room 102
Missing Assignment Study Hall cancelled this week.
7th-Grade Executive Council Thursday at lunch in room 314
Art Club Thursday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 527
Jazz Club Thursday morning before school in room 312
GSA Kennedy Skittles Thursday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 315
GSA Kennedy Skittles Thursday during 6th-grade lunch in room 102
Chess Club Thursday during 7th/8th grade lunch in the library
K-Pop Club Thursday at 6th-grade lunch in room B-9
6th-Grade Lunch Bunch Friday during 6th-grade lunch in room B-6
Environmental Club Friday during 7th/8th grade lunch in room 535
Anime Club Friday during 6th-grade lunch in room B-7
Have a great week!
Mrs. Leonardo
There are no important updates as of now. However, if you have any questions about payment, please email Maestro Alfredo: aoropeza@rcsdk8.net.
For Payments By Check:
- Make your check payable to JFKMSEEF.
- Write your child’s name in the memo line and “GCT”
- Hand deliver the check to JFKMSEEF, 1943 Kentucky Ave., Redwood City, CA 94061 OR
- Drop in the JFKMSEEF Dropbox in the Kennedy School office.
For Payments By ZELLE:
Make payment to John F Kennedy Middle School Expeditionary Education Foundation (or JFKMSEEF) as a recipient. Our account uses our email
address: kennedygrandcanyon@gmail.com PLEASE NOTE YOUR CHILD’S FIRST AND LAST NAMES IN THE MEMO.
Please review the information and email Maestro Alfredo (aoropeza@rcsdk8.net) if you have any questions or concerns.
Cell phones are to be turned off and placed in backpacks from the time students get on campus until they exit the campus. If you need to get a hold of your student, please avoid texting or calling during the school day. Please call the office and let us know you would like to speak to your student and we can have them come to the office and call you directly.
We have too many students using and accessing their cell phones during the school day in order to use social media. This is a waste of instructional time.
If your student is caught using their cell phone during the school day, they will be required to check their phone in and out of the office before and after school each day.
We need your continued support with this rule, so we thank you in advance for your help.
Click here to listen to this month's podcast for April.
April's Family Challenge: Celebrate Earth Day together by participating in activities that promote sustainability and appreciation for our plant. Take a picture of your family riding bikes, recycling, composting, picking up trash, using reusable water bottles, or reusing items. Then, email the photo to kennedyfc@rcsdk8.net.
Padres de Kennedy 2023 WhatsApp Group
Cynthia Cardona, Community School Coordinator ccardona@rcsdk8.net
Maria Segundo, Admin Assistant msegundo@rcsdk8.net
Kathryn Lige, Lead Mental Health Counselor klige@rcsdk8.net
Contact the Kennedy Family Center by phone: (650) 482-2110
What's Happening in the Kennedy Library?
Book Club will continue to meet on Tuesdays after school now that the musical is finished. If you are interested in joining, come by the library to sign up or sign up here.
Get more details from Ms. Cooper and the awesome Kennedy Library by visiting the Kennedy Library Website.
We are incredibly grateful for your support! Thank you!
Our wishlist contains items requested by teachers at Kennedy. It now contains items we need for our STEAM and art electives.
Kennedy Middle School
Email: cleonardo@rcsdk8.net
Website: https://kennedy.rcsdk8.net
Location: 2521 Goodwin Avenue, Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone: 650.482.2409
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennedymiddleschool