John F. Kennedy High School Home

Congratulations to Seniors Amy Moore and Amaya Rosales. Their Public Service Announcement (PSA) "Break the Pattern" was awarded 1st place and $500 in the 10th annual Directing Change suicide prevention PSA contest. This past weekend Amy and Amaya won a Grand Prize and $750 at the 56th Annual California Student Media Festival. To watch the PSA go to: https://youtu.be/GWHF9-79Szc

Ms. Serrano’s junior class had an opportunity to take a field trip to the Japanese American National Museum recently. The experience was a poignant one as two of their docents were survivors from the internment camps. The students were also able to see two new exhibits which featured an VR platform, essentially making history come alive.

Come Support our Softball Team for the City Championship! El Camino Real HS is playing Kennedy HS at Cal-State Northride on Saturday May 21 at 3pm. There will be NO cash sales on game day. GoFan only! GoFan Tickets (private link):

Kennedy prepares students to be college and career ready. Through Mr. Pedro Martinez’s computer class, 82 students passed the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification tests so far this school year. The MOS certification is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally. Students have the opportunity to become MOS Certified with the following programs: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Certification gives students a competitive edge and provides them with concrete evidence of the skills learned. 50 cougars have become Certified Specialist in Word (2 Experts); 24 in PowerPoint, and 6 in Excel. Special recognition goes to Matthew Chung, Yasmin Di Angelo (Word Expert), Precious Malaguit, Danielle Martinez, Eloy Mendiola, and Oscar Tea (Word Expert) for having completed all 3!

On Tuesday, May 17, 11 students in the Teaching Academy's Careers with Children class were presented with job offers to become early education aides by LAUSD's Educators of Tomorrow program. Five of these students were also presented with an additional job offer to become an instructional aide or special education assistant. The Educators of Tomorrow program focuses on helping high school students prepare for jobs within LAUSD and provides them training for the District employment exams. Once hired, some applicants are eligible for the Step Up program, which supports members on their journey to becoming teachers through mentorship and up to $8000 of financial assistance per year.

SkillsUSA team earned Gold at the 55th Annual SkillsUSA State Conference. This competition requires students to plan, implement, and document several dozen events throughout the school year. These include chapter meetings, community service events, career and skill training, leadership training, industry mentorships, social activities, and competitions. Our award-winning team is headed to compete at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skill Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 19-25!

We had 5 boys and 5 girls competing and representing John F Kennedy High School at the 2022 CIF LA City Section swim finals on Saturday May 8th at LA Valley College. Out of the 22 teams that made it to the finals, the boys team finished the meet with the 7th most points with only 5 swimmers competing. Our boys 400 freestyle relay earned a medal finishing 5th in the event. Individually Mathew Chung finished 6th in the 200 I.M. earning a medal and Santiago Ortega finished 4th in the 100 freestyle earning a medal.
Our girls qualified for the 200 Freestyle relay with a 13th place finish and the 400 freestyle relay with a 12th place finish.

SkillsUSA students performed incredibly this year, especially for coming out of a pandemic! They continue our 23-year winning streak at Regional competition, held virtually over 4 weekends in late January/early February. Eleven students earned medals: 5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze-in 4 different areas. All are eligible to compete at the State conference, held in-person April 21-24 in Ontario, CA. The ultimate goal is to win gold at State and advance to Nationals in Atlanta, GA this June.

Girls Soccer Placed 2nd in CIF LA City Section (CIFLACS) Division II Finals. Congratulations ladies! Way to represent and show that cougar pride.

The Architecture/Digital Design/Filmmaking Magnet was named a 2022 Magnet School of Excellence. This is the highest level of recognition for a magnet school awarded by the Magnet Schools of America. The Architecture/Digital Design/Filmmaking Magnet was one of only three magnet high schools in the state of California to be awarded this prestigious honor.

The Gifted Medical Magnet was named a 2022 Magnet School of Distinction. This is second highest level of recognition for a magnet school awarded by the Magnet Schools of America. The Gifted Medical Magnet was one of only seven magnet high schools in the state of California to be awarded this special honor.

Congratulations to our Varsity Girls Soccer team. The are Mission League Champions for the 2nd year in a row! Way to represent and show that Cougar Pride!

Congratulations to our JV Girls Soccer team. The are Mission League Champions for the 4th year in a row! Way to represent and show that Cougar Pride!

In order to safely prepare for the Spring Semester, ALL LAUSD students and staff, regardless of vaccine status, MUST have a negative Covid Baseline test prior to reporting to campus for in-person instruction on Tuesday, January 11. Monday, January 10 is designated as a Pupil-Free Day. Testing locations, times, and dates for Local Districts NorthWEST and NorthEAST are listed below. Appointments are encouraged, but not required. You can also pick up a free student at-home COVID rapid self-tests on Friday, January 7 or Saturday, January 8a-12p at any of the 63 Grab & Go sites, including Kennedy HS. You can also upload an external PCR/antigen test into the Daily Pass system by Sunday, January 9. Weekly Covid testing, Daily Passes, and masks are required for in-person learning. For more information call (213) 443-1300.