John F. Kennedy High School Home

On Wednesday, November 6 Kennedy students took a trip to The LAX Career Fair, where the students had the opportunity to talk to different employers like TSA, Global Aviation, Hire LAX, Southwest, Delta, United, American, FedEx, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, California National Guard, Fire Department, LAX Police, and the Coast Guard. The students were allowed to board a variety of aircraft and were given tours by pilots and other airline employees.

Dr. Hanover and Coach Cassidy's Health classes presented their Service Learning Projects in the Quad on Wednesday, November 7. It was a resounding success with many students stopping by to see the posters, ask questions on topics they didn't know about, and to connect with their peers.

On Friday, November 1, our Kennedy High School Band and Color Guard hosted the Band students from Frost Middle School to perform at our Homecoming Football game. Both Bands performed the National Anthem during pre-game festivities and played music in the stands for the entire game. All the Band students, parents, fans enjoyed themselves and had a great time.

Kennedy Cheer Community Children had the opportunity to perform on November 1. Children performed during half time and during the entire third quarter and the JV game. Children, parents, cheer team and fans were all excited and had a great time.

On October 29, 2019, the Teaching Academy welcomed 135 children from Tulsa Elementary (2nd grade) and Danube Elementary (1st grade). Our students lead the children on a tour of campus where 60 teachers and staff handed out candy and displayed the festive decor of the classrooms. Teaching Academy students also lead crafts and bingo for the children. Each child who attended got to choose a mini pumpkin to take home and each visiting teacher was gifted a large pumpkin for their class to enjoy.

On Sunday, October 27, 34 Kennedy students, 3 Kennedy Staff Members, and 3 friend of Students Run Los Angeles (SRLA) ran the Beachcomber 10K Run at Dockweiler State Beach in Marina del Rey, which was from 8am-12pm. The participants earned the first medal of the SRLA medal puzzle. These four medals that interconnect include: 10K, 15K, 18K, and 5K, which is after the Los Angeles Marathon. Soon they will be running the LA Marathon on March 8, 2020.

ARC will be hosting a school clean up on Saturday November 2. Every hour you work will clear up 2 full day absences OR 3 tardies. This does not clear your absences or tardies. You still need to bring a note for those attendance marks. If you are interested please show up at 8am at the football field and check in with David Montoya.

Kennedy High School is one of the 15 schools selected by LIFEWTR for their latest beautification project to paint murals across LAUSD schools. The murals are meant to give the students a daily dose of inspiration across the community, and JFK decided to kick it off with surprise guest, actress Dascha Polanco. "When it comes to education we can't ignore what allows kids to be able to express themselves. I think that's something that we've kind of ignored and pushed to the side. I know math and reading and STEM is very important, but the arts as well," said Polanco. Instead of doing typical cap and gown yearbook photos, LIFEWTR partnered with the school and local artists to give their senior portraits a more artistic look. The students got to interact with Polanco while choosing what kind of art they wanted to incorporate in their senior portrait. They had the option to work with graffiti, digital, water color and oil painting artists to bring the students' visions to life. Some of the other 15 schools will also get an artistic yearbook portrait, and all of them will get a mural by a local LA artist. By Gabriela Milian

Bella Martinez, 14, has Down syndrome and made the Cheer Team at John F. Kennedy High School. "She was born, I didn't know she was going to have down syndrome. When I was holding her...I mean I fast forwarded to now to high school, I thought she wouldn't go to prom, she wouldn't do your typical teenage stuff and here we are she's doing cheer," said Yuri Martinez, Bella's mom. Bella is like any other teenager, she goes to school, does her homework, and has no problem talking about boys. "She's like the one that encourages the boys on the sideline, she does like her own little chants. And that's fun to see because she has her personality, and it comes from her and within. She's just a natural cheerleader," said Elizabeth Ortiz, Cheer Coach for JFK High School. Bella's parents and two brothers have seen her grow substantially throughout the years, more than they could have imagined. When asked what advice she would give to other parents who have children with Down syndrome Bella's mom says: "Don't believe everything you read, talk to parents, talk to people involved in the Down syndrome community. Don't limit your child, and they'll show you how much they can do and they'll show you their personality because every single child has their own individuality, even kids with down syndrome." By Gabriela Milian

The Teaching Academy took 4 teachers, 33 Seniors, and 16 Sophomores to spend Columbus Day/ Indigenous Peoples Day on the “open” sea learning about ocean conservation and strengthening group skills.