Cougar Connect

Dear Kennedy Community,

I hope you are enjoying your extended weekend.

Here's what you need to know for the week ahead:

Chromebook Distribution

Your Kennedy student will get their Redwood City School District Chromebook this week. For the past two weeks, we have been discussing RCSD policies and expectations regarding school devices. I need your support. Please review the expectations below with your student. A video overview is also included for you to review.

• We expect all students to come to school with a fully charged Chromebook each day and bring their chargers with them. Teachers use the Chromebooks in class for lessons, and when your student shows up unprepared, they are unable to complete assignments, and it causes classroom disruptions; time is also wasted. Students' Chromebooks are a tool for school, and they need to bring their laptops to school every day. Please support your students by reminding them to charge their Chromebooks each night.

• The Chromebook should not be used past 9:00 p.m. Students need rest.

• Backpacks and Chromebooks should not be left in vehicles. Backpacks and Chromebooks should not be left at a park or other unsupervised areas.

• A school administrator or tech administrator can view student emails and files at any time. Students are expected to make wise choices while using their Chromebooks. Cyberbullying, inappropriate comments, insensitive jokes, and other vulgarity will not be tolerated. Please discuss these expectations with your student(s).

• Students should keep their passwords safe. They should not share them with their peers.

Please review RCSD's expectations here. You may also watch an overview of the expectations here.

Students should not bring their own personal devices to school.

I have received emails from parents alerting me that students know how to avert district firewalls and filters. I will discuss this topic at my Principal's Coffee later this week.

Thank you for your support!

Picture Day Tuesday, September 10

Picture Day will be on Tuesday, September 10. Students will take their photos during PE in the Kennedy Gymnasium. We use Jostens for our school photos. Jostens uses green screen technology, so students should not wear any green clothing or green accessories. Please see the flyer below for more details.

i-Ready Assessment

The beginning of the year reading and math diagnostic will begin the week of September 9. All grade levels will complete the math assessment in PE classes. Our 6th and 7th graders will also complete the reading assessment in PE. Our 8th-graders will complete the reading assessment in their ELA classes. NOTE: Sequoia Union High School District will use the scores for the first 8th-grade reading diagnostic to determine students' English placement for 9th grade. We want students to always try their best, but we are strongly encouraging our 8th graders to take this initial assessment seriously.

Missing Assignment Study Hall

Missing Assignment Study Hall will begin this Friday after school from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Kennedy Library. Students who are missing one or more assignments will need to stay after school to ensure the assignment is finished and submitted. We will run run a Missing Assignment Report on Wednesday afternoon. Families will be notified by email and text message on Wednesday afternoon. Please make sure your student has turned in all assignments.

Music Program Updates

If you were unable to attend the Music Program meeting last Wednesday, here are the slides from the meeting: English and Spanish

PowerSchool & Student Passwords

RCSD reset student Google passwords. We will give students their updated passwords once they receive their Chromebooks on Tuesday. PowerSchool will be available for families on Tuesday. If you have any issues with PowerSchool and need support, please email Maria Segundo in the Kennedy Family Center msegundo@rcsdk8.net. We will have PowerSchool info sessions for parents and guardians in September. We will update families once we have a date.

Please check student grades at least once per week. If you have questions about a grade, you can email the teacher directly. Come to Back to School Night on Thursday, September 12 to get more information about each teacher's grading policies.

School Policy on Fast Food and Food Delivery

Food deliveries (DoorDash, UberEats, PostMates, etc.) are NOT allowed, as this is a major disruption to the office and could lead to safety issues. Families should refrain from dropping off fast food lunches for students, and we have reminded students not to use their phones to order food. Thank you for following this policy.

Principal's Coffee

My first Principal's Coffee of the year will be held this Thursday, September 5th, at 8:45 a.m. in the Kennedy Library. Please join me in learning about our goals and vision for this school year.

Back to School Night & High School Info Night

Mark your calendars: Back to School Night (BTSN) is Thursday, September 12 at 5:30 p.m. We will begin in the gym at 5:30 p.m. Then, families will have the opportunity to visit classrooms. We will host an 8th-grade high school information session from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. in the gym after Back to School Night.

School Site Council Meeting/English Learner Advisory Committee Meeting

Two of our School Site Council (SSC) parent members ended their two-year term in May. We are in need of two Kennedy parents or guardians to join our SSC. Our SSC will meet on the third Wednesday of every month from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Last year, our SSC preferred to meet virtually. We will determine whether we will continue with virtual meetings or in-person meetings at our first meeting later this month. To nominate yourself for School Site Council, please fill out this form by Saturday, September 7, 11:59 p.m. Once we have nominations, our school community will vote next week. I'll send more updates about this in next week's newsletter.

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

Phone Contact: (650) 482-2409

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