At JFK Academy, we lead with safety, kindness, and community. We set high expectations, challenge every scholar, and prepare them for a future of excellence—while caring for the whole child every step of the way!
Kennedy School
📊 Our Kennedy Schoolwide Goals 📊
At Kennedy, we believe in setting high expectations for learning and working together to help every scholar succeed. This year, our goals are:
📚 Reading & Math: Strive for at-least 45% proficiency in both Reading and Math by the end of the school year.
🌎 English Language Learners: Support our EL scholars so that at least 15% are reclassified as fully proficient in English.
With your partnership at home and our dedication at school, we know our scholars can rise to the challenge! Together, we can make it happen. 💙
🎃🍁 Fall Festival & October Fun! 🍁🎃
📅 Fall Festival
Mark your calendars! Our Fall Festival will be held on Wednesday, October 29th from 3:30-5:30pm. We invite all families to join us for a night of fun with a focus on math games and activities. There will be music, food trucks, and plenty of fun for everyone!
🍬 Candy Collection Contest
We are collecting bags of candy throughout the month of October. Each class will compete in a Candy Collection Contest—the class with the most candy donated will win a special prize! Please drop off candy bags at the front office or give them to your child’s homeroom teacher.
Costume Parade
On Friday, October 31st, we’ll host a Costume Parade for students who would like to dress up (participation is optional). This will also be a Free Dress Down Day for all students.
We look forward to celebrating the season with our Kennedy families!
🌟 Anti-Bullying Poster Contest 🌟
October is Bullying Prevention Month, and our school social worker, Ms. Tockstein, is leading a special Poster Contest to spread kindness and stand up against bullying!
🖍️ Contest Dates: October 1 – October 29
🏆 Winners Announced: October 30 (4 winners per grade level)
We can’t wait to see the creativity and powerful anti-bullying messages our scholars come up with!
Attendance Matters
Did you know:
Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
Students can still fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks.
Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
We appreciate your support in helping your child arrive on time and attend regularly so they can make the most of every learning opportunity at John F. Kennedy Academy of Inquiry. 🌼🥕🍅
🎶 Music Club: The Melodic Explorers 🎶
We’re excited to introduce The Melodic Explorers, a new music club for 2nd and 3rd grade scholars with Mr. Yirenchie!
📅 Mondays ONLY beginning October 13, 2025
⏰ 3:15 – 4:00 PM
🎼 Focus: Learning to play the recorder and the keyboard
This is a wonderful opportunity for students to explore music, develop new skills, and have fun making melodies together!
Breakfast Reminder
🍎 Friendly Reminder: Breakfast Time
Breakfast is served daily from 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM.
To prevent disruptions to learning, we kindly ask that if your child will be eating breakfast at school, they arrive between 7:30–8:00 AM. Once instruction begins at 8:00 AM, students will no longer be able to eat breakfast in class.
Thank you for helping us ensure a smooth start to the day for all scholars! 🌟
🌟 October Focus: The 3 B’s & Social Skills 🌟
Throughout October, our school is focusing on practicing our School Expectations—known as the 3 B’s:
✅ Be Safe
✅ Be Respectful
✅ Be Responsible
Alongside the 3 B’s, our scholars will also be learning and practicing these important Social Skills of the Month to help them succeed in school and beyond:
Asking for Help
Look at the person, ask if they have time, explain clearly what you need, and thank them.Listening
Look at the person speaking, remain quiet until they are finished, and show you heard them by nodding or saying “Okay.”Working with Others
Identify the tasks, assign roles, share ideas calmly, and complete the work together.
✨ Families can support by modeling these skills at home—together, we can help our scholars grow in confidence, respect, and teamwork!
💙 Mental Health Awareness:
I Know Campaign
This month, our school social worker facilitated a presentation for all grade levels as part of the I Know Campaign, with a focus on mental health.
During the lessons, scholars learned about the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions and how understanding these can help them make positive choices every day.
We are proud of our students for engaging in these important conversations and building skills that support their overall well-being!
🍂 Fall Break Reminder & Learning Tips
Fall Break will be from Monday, October 6 – Friday, October 10.
The school will be closed during this week and will reopen on Monday, October 13, 2025
Even while school is out, families can help scholars stay on track by practicing reading and math at home:
📖 Read together daily — ask your child to retell the story or share their favorite part.
➕ Practice math facts — addition, subtraction, or even word problems during everyday activities (like cooking or shopping).
💻 Log into IXL — spend 15–20 minutes a day building skills in both reading and math.
Thank you for supporting learning at home—we look forward to welcoming everyone back on October 13!
Hispanic Heritage Month
🎉 Hispanic Heritage Month 🎉
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 – October 15, 2025.
We are excited to highlight some of the beautiful boards created by our scholars to showcase Hispanic heritage and culture across our campus. Thank you to everyone who contributed their creativity and pride to make this celebration meaningful for our Kennedy community!
🪪 Student Identification Badges🪪
As part of our commitment to campus safety, ALL students will be required to wear their school ID badges at all times during the school day. They help ensure that we are accountable for who is accessing our schools at all times
🚌 Student ID badges will be used to:
Access RSD bus transportation and school meals during lunch
💳 Lost or damaged ID cards?
There will be a $5.00 replacement fee for any lost or damaged badges .
Please help us by reminding your scholar to wear their badge daily and to treat it with care. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our school safe, organized, and running smoothly! 💙🙌