Kennedy Middle School (Cupertino, California)

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Sports field of Kennedy with the Regnart neighborhood as the backdrop

The John F. Kennedy Middle School (KMS) is a middle school located in Cupertino, California which educates grades six through eight, and feeds nearby Monta Vista High School. Its principal is Russ Ottey and the school mascot is the cougar. Kennedy Middle School is part of the Cupertino Union School District. Founded in 1963 as Kennedy Junior High School, it was the first school to be named after President John F. Kennedy. The CUSD school board had passed a resolution to name the new school after the victor of the 1960 presidential election before the close election between Kennedy and Nixon had taken place. Originally composed of the seventh and eight grades, Kennedy extended to the sixth grade in Fall 1998 and was renamed Kennedy Middle School in Fall 1999. Elementary schools Regnart, Lincoln, Stevens Creek, and parts of Faria and Portal along with Montebello Elementary from the Montebello School District in unincorporated Cupertino go to Kennedy.

Kennedy, like other schools in the district, is known for its high academic ratings. In the 2004-2005 school year, Kennedy was placed first in the school district for its high API score. It is consistently ranked among top 10% of middle schools in California based on the Academic Performance Index (API).

Kennedy Middle School is a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School. It is also known for its exceptional high standards and test scores.

The teachers and students are all placed into villages. The names of the villages are letters of the blueberries, to make it easy to remember for students. The villages are: Village A-M.

The Kennedy Middle School is located in Cupertino, CA, teaching grades 6-8. Kennedy Middle School is part of the Cupertino Union School District, serves more than 17,000 students in a richly diverse community representing 46 different languages in a 26-square-mile (67 km²) area that includes the city of Cupertino and portions of San Jose, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Santa Clara, and Los Altos. The district has over 720 teachers (FTEs) serving more than 17,000 students. Schools in this district are considered some of the best in the state and this is one of the contributing factors to high housing prices in the Cupertino area. The Cupertino School District ranks at least 10th in elementary, middle, and high schools statewide. Faria (William) Elementary ranks number 1 in the school district with an API score of 1000.

Kennedy Middle School ranks number 1 in the school district with an API score of 959.

The school was founded in 1963, originally known as Kennedy Junior High School, it was the first school to be named after President John F. Kennedy. The school originally had only grades 7 and 8, but later the 6th grade was added in the Fall of 1998, and renamed Kennedy Middle School in the Fall of 1999.

The teaching system over at Kennedy Middle School is excellent and is known for its high academic rankings. Kennedy's API (Academic Performance Index) was ranked number 1 in their school district for the 2004-2005 school year, and ranked 10th out of 1066 schools in California. The next year in 2005-2006, Kennedy ranked third out of the over 1000 schools in California.

[edit] Kennedy Idol

In the middle of the year, Kennedy shows a very entertaining show, called the Kennedy Idol. Kids, or faculty members, lip sync to a song and dance. A poll is conducted amongst the student body and a winner is declared. Kennedy Idol was named after the popular TV show, American Idol. Many schools have liked the idea, and have followed suit.

[edit] Social Programs

The school additionally hosts many "W.E.B. Socials" each year, in which all willing 6th graders (aka pixies) can participate in various activities that encourage them to make friends. The 6th graders are led by a group of 8th graders called W.E.B. leaders.

[edit] Electives

Like many other middle schools, all students in every grade chooses a class of their choice. In sixth grade, the choices are limited to band, exploratory wheel, and orchestra. However, once a student enters seventh grade and eighth grade, their choices expand immensely.

[edit] Sports

In addition to its talented students, this school also possesses good sports teams as well. In Kennedy's gym, rows of banners list dates of when Kennedy had led the school to championship. Some of the sports are volleyball, softball, soccer, basketball, and cross country. Kennedy has won many cross country marathons, which are long and enduring runs. Other schools Kennedy play against are Lawson, Egan, Columbia, Cupertino, Graham, and Hyde.

Students are encouraged to participate in Kennedy's sports teams. Try-outs are held at the beginning of the season. The players may sign of either the 6th grade team, the 7th grade team, the C team (for students 5 ft and under (only applies to sports in which height can be an advantage), the 6th/7th grade team, or the 8th grade team.

[edit] Go Green

A new club founded in the school year of 2007-2008, Go Green aims at making Kennedy the first "green" middle school in the Cupertino Union School District. Some programs are not going underway, such as improved recycling programs and banners posted through out the school telling students and teachers to "Go Green!" because the school is against things of the sort.

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