Kennedy Middle School Update

Greetings Crusader Families,

As we close February and head on to March, I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of our incredible families. Your commitment and dedication to education make a positive impact here at Kennedy Middle School every day. This is my second year serving as your middle school principal and I feel very lucky to be part of this strong and caring community. In the face of challenges this school year, your resilience and commitment to KMS and our students is inspiring. Our staff here at KMS work extremely hard every day for our students and your support is crucial to our successes. Together, we are shaping a bright future for all of us.

Thank you, once again, for being a wonderful part of our Kennedy Middle School family. Your support is the foundation upon which we build our great school community and we are truly grateful.

Most Sincerely,

Jessica Gieryn

KMS Principal

262-253-3452

jgieryn@gsdwi.org

• March 6th - 7th Grade Career Fair

• March 6th - Evening Conferences

• March 7th - Daytime Conferences

• March 7th and 8th - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

• March 25th - April 1st - SPRING BREAK, NO SCHOOL

8th Grade Promotion 2024 - SAVE THE DATE

DATE: Thursday, June 6th, 2024

TIME: 6 PM

LOCATION: GHS Fieldhouse

Please note: 8th graders will not be required to report to school on the half day (6/7/24)

Watch your email, the monthly KMS newsletter, and the KMS website for more information on the evening's event.

We look forward to celebrating your 8th Graders!

I have recently moved back to Wisconsin after 20 years of living and working in the UK as an SLP. My specialty there was working with children who needed support for intellectual disability and autism. I have two teenage daughters, so I spend most of my time managing them and trying not to have a heart attack. When I am not worrying about them, I meditate, do Crossfit and play piano (badly).

7th Grade Career Fair

Kennedy Middle School and Junior Achievement would like to thank this year's 7th Grade Career Fair speakers. On Wednesday, March 6th, 7th Grade students will get the opportunity to attend three different career sessions and learn about those professions. We appreciate all of our speakers taking the time to share their jobs, their stories, and their time with our students.

Goal Setting Update

As part of Kennedy's academic and career planning, on March 13th, 2024, all students will review and revise their academic or behavioral goals. Please ask to see your child's revised goal and have some discussion regarding their goals and current academic progress as we are nearing the end of third quarter. You can find this information in your child's Google Drive in the College and Career Readiness folder.

8th Grade Promotion 2024 - SAVE THE DATE

DATE: Thursday, June 6th, 2024

TIME: 6 PM

LOCATION: GHS Fieldhouse

Please note: 8th graders will not be required to report to school on the half day (6/7/24)

Watch your email, the monthly KMS newsletter, and the KMS website for more information on the evening's event.

We look forward to celebrating your 8th Graders!

UPDATES - For more information about exciting activities and athletics at KMS, see the following links: KMS Activities, KMS Athletics.

• Volleyball is in full swing. See the KMS Athletics link above for schedules.
• Key Club Meeting on March 19th from 2:45 - 3:45 in the GAC
• Join us at Science Club every other Wednesday! At Science club we have fun learning through experiments, challenges, inventions, and current events! We meet in Ms. Schilling's room E-7 from 2:45-3:45pm. If you have any questions please see Ms. Schilling or Ms. Betanzos.
• Mathcounts will meet March 18th from 3:00 - 3:45 in Mrs. Rohde's Room E3.
• AV Club meets Tuesday and Thursdays from 2:45-4pm in room G141

• Responsible care of Chromebooks is an integral part of life at KMS. Please ensure students are plugging their Chromebooks in to charge overnight and bringing them fully charged to school each morning. This will help set everyone up for success each and every day at KMS!
• Having issues with Skyward? Parents and students can now use the email skywardsupport@gsdwi.org for any issues related to skyward access or login, etc... These emails go straight to our Skyward-knowledgeable staff!

The library would like to congratulate 8th graders Alana Steffen, Leah Thompson and Brianna Sweeney for claiming the 2024 KMS Battle of the Books Championship! It was an exciting, down to the wire Championship Battle that saw the top 7th grade team made up of Leah Anderson, Mallory Garves, Layla Sutton-Zittel, and Emily Tamas make a strong late comeback but eventually fall just one point short, finishing in second place. Honorable mentions also go to the 7th grade team of Izzy Dormer, Wyatt Lau, Lucy LeGear and Hallie Wilson for capturing third place overall as well as our top 6th grade team made up of Alexander Brown, Hannah Glodoksi and Asher Kearl. Alana, Leah and Brianna also competed in the WI State Battle of the Books competition last week and are awaiting their results. The library would like to thank all of the KMS students that participated in the 2024 Battle of the Books tournament and we hope you enjoyed the reading and lively competitions as much as we did!

KMS is having an all-school dance on April 5th, and e-tickets are on sale NOW through April 3rd for $5. Please see the attached link to purchase your discounted e-tickets. Each student must purchase a ticket to enter the dance. Students must be enrolled at Kennedy Middle School to purchase any tickets, student IDs will be required at check in.

• https://kms-gtown.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true

***Tickets will also be available at the door, on the night of the dance for $10 (cash only). If purchasing at the door, a parent will be required to come inside to leave a phone number and sign off.

We need parent help chaperoning the dance on April 5th. The sign up for chaperoning is here:

• https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/821796218028/false#/invitation

Not able to chaperone the Hawaiian Luau? No problem!

To make this a successful fundraiser event, we would love your help with snack donations for the concession stand – please sign-up to help. All proceeds will go toward the PTA and any future needs/events for our school.

• https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/2010640700113/false#/invitation

Mahalo!

KMS PTA

Additionally, the 8th grade dance committee has begun planning! The 8th grade dance will be on Wednesday, June 5. It is free for our 8th graders to attend. If you would like to donate to offset the costs of the dj, decorations, etc, feel free to do so here: https://kms-gtown.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true

• If you’d like to help with the dance, please contact Caryn Pawlak caryn76@gmail.com

The spring Spirit Wear sale will run from March 12-19. Watch for the link in skyward and on Facebook as we get closer to the date!

8th grade yard signs to celebrate our 8th graders’ graduation will be on sale soon-watch for a skyward and Facebook posts in the coming weeks with ordering info.

We will host a booster night on Wednesday, March 20 at Chipotle in Menomonee Falls from 5-9 pm. Let’s make this a great event! You may order in store by showing the flyer or order online with our online ordering code: 8QARW9Y

Our hospitality committee would welcome some help! They have two more events coming up this school year. If you are able to help, please contact Hope Corsi or Jenny Opelt hope.corsi@yahoo.com or jenovan@aol.com

Our March meeting will be Tuesday, March 19 at 7 pm in the GAC and via zoom. Note this is a week earlier than usual due to spring break. We’d love to have you join us!

Our PTA treasurer has an outgoing 8th grader, so we are in need of someone to step up and take over as treasurer come June. Please contact Ann Dombroe with any questions or interest: annblomquist@yahoo.com

The PTA membership is lower than usual this year, please consider supporting us:

https://kms-gtown.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true

If you can sing, dance, act, do Taekwondo, perform in Poms, perform comedy or magic, or solve a Rubik's cube quickly, anything that is a talent, we want to see it! The KMS talent show will be held on the evening of April 25th!

Auditions will be held on March 11th,12th, and 13th. Students only need to sign up for one date. Sign-up sheets will be located outside of the Chorus room.

Please feel free to reach out to Ms. Buettner or Ms. Fichtner if you have any questions. Hope to see you there!

Last week, 20 of our students competed in presentation events, tests, participated in workshops, and toured a local business in the Dells area. Way to go, everyone!

Students who are attending after school sporting events, without a parent, need to report to the designated location immediately after school. Students are encouraged to quietly work on homework or other academic tasks during this time. If students have completed all their school work they are allowed to quietly socialize with their peers. If students do not want to stay after school but would still like to attend the sporting event, they will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

During the sporting event, students are expected to sit in the student section which is supervised by KMS staff. Students will not be allowed to sit in other areas of the gym unless they are accompanied by an adult. Spectators are not allowed to sit on the players side of the gym. If a student is attending a sporting event with an adult that is not their guardian or parent, that individual is responsible for supervising that student during the event.

Cell Phone Use - We are aware that students will need access to their cell phones during these events for a variety of reasons including but not limited communication with parents when they are to be picked up, change in plans, and or for emergencies. Students' cell phones should be stored in their backpacks, which will be placed next to the bleachers, and if they need to use them they will be allowed to with the supervision of a KMS staff member. Students are allowed to come to the Gold Office throughout the day to contact parents so that plans can be made or clarified. If students are not following cell phone expectations or using their cell phones in inappropriate ways, KMS supervisors do have the right to confiscate the phones and give them to parents when the student is picked up. Students who are not following expectations for after school sporting events will meet with KMS administrators and their participation in future sporting events will be discussed.

Students who receive school-based consequences (such as an in-school suspension) during the day may not be allowed to attend after school events for that day.

Please be kind and efficient while dropping off your child in the morning. Pull all the way through the circle (by the bike rack) before dropping off. Remind your child to be ready to exit the car upon drop off so other families are not waiting too long. Be kind and courteous, thank you!

Calling all artists and art fans! March is Youth Art Month!

The annual Germantown School District ART SHOW begins March 4th at the Germantown public library! Artists of all ages are featured; From Kindergarten students to High School Seniors!

Opening night is Monday, March 4th from 5:30-6:30pm at the Germantown Library. The GSD K-12 Art Teachers will be in attendance! Don't miss out! It only runs through March 21st!

Hope to see you there!

If you're looking for a fun and rewarding career working with middle school students, KMS is looking to add to their awesome team! Our current open positions are:

• Special Education Aide

Click on the links above to learn more!

Principal: Jessica Gieryn

Assistant Principal: Brandon Kohl

Website: https://www.gsdwi.org/o/kennedy
Location: N118 W15860 Williams Drive Germantown, Wisconsin 53022
Phone: 262-253-3450
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyGSDWI