Welcome Back Gaels!
Welcome Information – Summer 2025
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:
We hope that this summer is proving to be a time of rest and rejuvenation that will leave you prepared to meet the challenges of a new academic year. The 2025-2026 school calendar is available on the Kennedy website.
Regarding class schedules, every effort has been made to accommodate course requests. Note, however, that the master schedule has its limitations and that the priority is to enroll students in required courses before electives. Please be aware that not all requests for a schedule change can be honored. The date of schedule availability will be sent to you in a different communication.
If you have not done so already, please place orders with Flynn & O’Hara for uniform items to ensure proper fit and quantity. Students grow, laundry accumulates, and the school continues its message of acceptable, neat, modest, and dignified grooming and attire. FlynnOHara is reached at https://flynnohara.com. Online ordering of gym uniforms can be done through https://www.liebmansuniforms.com/kcps.html
All students are required to have two school locks, one each for their academic and gym lockers. On the day of their orientation all 9th graders and transfer students should bring $20.00 for the purchase of their two school locks, either in the form of cash or a check made payable to Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School. If a returning student does not have the two required school locks, then he/she will need to bring in $10 for each lock needed.
The schedule for the opening days of school is as follows:
Tuesday September 2nd
- Orientation for 10th and 11th grade transfer students and newly-admitted international students will be held from 1:30 PM until 3:00 PM. Report to the main office
Wednesday September 3rd
- Sophomores, Class of 2028 – Report at 7:55 AM (dress uniform). Dismissal is at noon
- Juniors, Class of 2027 – Report at 7:55 AM (dress uniform). Dismissal is at noon
- Seniors only, Class of 2026 – Report at 10 AM (casual uniform). Dismissal is at noon
Thursday September 4th
- Freshmen only, Class of 2029 – Full day – Report at 7:55 AM (dress uniform). Dismissal is at 2:34
St. Mary’s Academy will hold its orientation concurrently on this day
On September 3th and 4th student ID/yearbook photos for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be taken by Upstate Images studios. If you wish to order personal photographs, you may use the order forms that will be mailed to your home by the company. Checks should be made payable to Upstate Images. Please ensure that your son/daughter brings the order form and payment to school on the day of his/her photo. Students are to be properly attired in the dress uniform.
Friday September 5th
- First full day of school – All students report to school (casual uniform). The first bell rings at 7:55
We wish you well for the remainder of the summer and look forward to seeing you soon for the start of a new academic year.
Sincerely,
Ms. Gretchen Teifer, Dean of Students
Greetings from the Health Office
Greetings from the Health Office: INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Absences
If your child is sick or will miss school, please call the Main Office 914-232-5061 x100 each morning to report the absence to our Attendance Officer. In addition to calling the Main Office each time your child is out sick, an absent note from the parent is required for each absence. This needs to be given to the Main Office on the child’s return. An absence of 3 or more consecutive school days also requires an MD note to return to school (and sports if applicable).
School Protocols for Symptomatic Student
If your child has any of these symptoms: Fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue/feeling of tiredness, muscle or body aches, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny or stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea you need to keep your child home and contact a healthcare provider for guidance.
If your child is positive for COVID19, influenza or other contagious illness, they will need to
- be fever free for 24 hours, without fever-reducing medication
- have improvement in symptoms before returning to school
- Feel well enough to attend school (students with severe or persistent coughing should remain at home until symptoms improve)
Physicals and Vaccine Record
Any physical exam can be recorded on the NYS Health Examination form or EHR equivalent form from your healthcare provider. All Freshmen need a copy of their vaccine record and physical exam to be submitted at Registration. New York State requires a physical within 12 months of the start of the school year. All Junior students need a new physical exam for 11th grade. Please send their completed physical forms to the Health Office.
All transfer students or new registrants in any grade will need their vaccine record and current physical exam to start school. The physical exam needs to have been done within 12 months of the start of school. If it has been more than a year, your student will need a new one.
Meningococcal Vaccine: All students entering grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 in New York State are required to be vaccinated against meningococcal A disease as recommended by the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP). Students in Grade 9, 10, 11 will require 1 dose of MenACWY vaccine (sometimes abbreviated as MCV4; brand names Menactra, Menveo or MenQuadfi) at age 10 older.
Students in Grade 12 will require a 2nd dose of MenACWY before the start of school in September. If the first dose was received at 16 years or older, the second (booster) dose is not required. For a complete list of required vaccinations, please click HERE.
Sports
All students participating in High School Sports need a physical, ideally every 12 months. If the physical is outdated (they expire after 12 months) at the start of try-outs, they will not be permitted to try out or practice until a new physical is obtained indicting they are cleared for sports. Please make your appointments early.
Each sports season (3 seasons during the school year) require a parent or guardian to complete FAMILY ID/Arbiter Sports 30 days before the sport starts, thus providing recent, relevant or new medical information not included on the physical exam. FAMILY ID/Arbiter Sports is an on-line sports registration accessed through the Kennedy Catholic website. Go to the Student Life page and click on FAMILY ID under Important Student Links (If you have difficulties after you access the form call 888-311-4060 for technical assistance with FAMILY ID). You can also find the link under the Athletics tab. You will need to create an account for your student and you will utilize this same account each time the student is registered for sports.
Any injury requiring an MD visit or school absence of 3 days or more must be reported to the Coach and Health Office. Your child will need medical clearance to resume physical education and sports.
All physicals, MD notes, and clearance notes must be submitted to the Health Office. These forms are part of the student’s medical file. If you give a note to a coach, a duplicate copy must be sent into the Health Office.
Current COVID19 protocol for athletes may require that any student athlete that has tested positive during the sports season may require a separate CARDIAC CLEARANCE from a Healthcare Provider to resume sports. This policy is subject to change.
Click here for link to sports registration page.
Medications
All medications, including over the counter medications such as Tylenol or Advil, or any other OTC drugs given at school, must have parent and MD written permission and must be administered by the school nurse. If your child has medication on them that hasn’t been approved with parent and doctor permission, it will confiscated and locked up in the Health Office. A new medication form needs to be on file in the Health Office each school year in September (and expires June 30). The parent needs to bring the medication to the Health Office, unless the doctor has indicated the student has self-carry status. Prescription medication needs to be in the original container and the properly labeled. Over the counter medication must be unopened.
If your child requires an emergency medication such as Epi-Pen for a severe allergy or inhaler for asthma, they may self-carry these medications with written parent and MD permission. This independent self-carry status needs to be indicated by the prescribing doctor. Students who play sports or stay after school will need to have self-carry status for medications and should carry their medications with them. Medications that are kept at the Health Office should be at school at the start of the school year and brought in by the parent. All medication forms can be found on the school website under Resources.
Any medications given on a daily basis that can be taken at home before or after school should be given at home. Medications not picked up by the parent, at the end of the school year, will be discarded.
Illness or Injury
Any student who has been out of school for an extended period, has had surgery, hospitalization or a serious injury needs MD clearance to return to school. Please submit the paperwork to the Health Office. Students needing crutches or any other appliance (such as a sling or brace or boot) or uniform modification at school will need a doctor’s order to do so.
Health Forms
Health forms can be found on the school website under Resources
Please do not send your child to school if your student has:
- Any Flu or COVID19 symptoms. Please test at home at onset of symptoms and again before returning to school
- Fever; your student needs to be fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications to return
- Pink Eye diagnosed: He/she will need to be 24 hours on medication to return
- Vomiting or diarrhea occurring within 24 hours of school, please keep at home
- Strep Throat: they should be treated for at least 24 hours on antibiotic and fever free to return
- Severe cough that distracts students in class or keeps student up at night, or is persistent
It is sometimes difficult to determine if a student is well enough for school early in the morning. Therefore, a working, reachable contact number for the parents, guardians, or a designated emergency contact must be on file in the Main Office. If this needs to be updated, please contact the Main Office. If your student needs to be picked up from school, it is expected that he/she is picked up in a timely manner.
If and when your child can drive to school and requests to leave due to illness, we need verbal permission from a parent or guardian for the student to leave school.
If you need to contact the Nurse over the summer months, please do so via email.
Welcome to Kennedy Catholic! If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Health Office.
Tracey Longo BA, RN
School Nurse
Phone: 914-232-5061 x109
Fax: 914-232-3416
Email: [email protected]
Uniform Guidelines for 2025-2026
The Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School uniform is designed to develop and promote a sense of conservative business attire that allows for active, uninterrupted participation in the vibrant school day. The end result needs to be a comfortable fit and a professionally neat appearance. The uniform polo, V-neck sweater, vest, and crew-neck sweatshirt must have the uniform crest logo. Please note that fleeces are no longer used.
Girls’ Dress Uniform
Main apparel consists of the khaki uniform kilt, white blouse with collar (not polo), and school uniform V-neck sweater.
The blouse is to be tucked in and the collar is to show (not to be covered by the sweater). The properly fitted kilt is to fall at the student’s knee. It is not to be rolled up at the waist. It is to be worn with the tights.
Leg-wear includes only opaque, solid (navy or white), non-design tights. Leggings or ripped tights are not permitted. For sensitive skin or extra warmth, search the web for hypoallergenic or fleece-lined tights.
Footwear includes only black or brown polish-able leather shoes with a substantial, non-sneaker-like sole and good foot support. Sperry-type boat shoes are preferred, but only brown/tan leather ones are permitted. See https://flynnohara.com for examples. The following are not allowed during uniform hours at school: platform shoes, open-toe shoes, sandals, flip flops, boots, sneakers – including black – or shoes with sneaker-like soles, suede shoes, moccasins, slippers or slipper-like footwear, footwear with fuzzy or faux-fur interior, or extra color/bling on the shoe.
Girls’ Casual Uniform
All of the above remain in effect, with the substitution of the navy uniform polo shirt for the blouse and V-neck.
The uniform polo is required. A plain, white, short sleeve tee shirt that does not extend below the uniform polo may be worn as an under-layer for comfort/warmth. The casual crewneck uniform logo sweatshirt may be worn over the polo for extra warmth, if needed. This is a recommended item. Note: If the student chooses to wear the uniform sweatshirt, it does not replace the polo, and the polo collar should be worn so that it shows outside.
Boys’ Dress Uniform
Main apparel consists of khaki, Docker-style pants that must be purchased from Flynn & O’Hara, plain brown or black leather dress belt, white long-sleeve oxford button down shirt, business tie, and school uniform V-neck sweater or vest.
The shirt collar and business tie are to show, and the shirt must be tucked in. Pants are to be properly fitted at the waist and should not bunch up at the ankle. Jogger style pants are not permitted.
Footwear includes only brown or black, polish-able, leather dress shoes. Sperry-type boat shoes are preferred, but only brown/tan leather ones are permitted. Socks are to be white, brown, navy, or black. See https://flynnohara.com for examples. The following are not permitted during uniform hours at school: sneakers (including black) or shoes with sneaker-like soles, walking shoes, footwear with faux-fur or fuzzy interior, slippers, boots, suede shoes, or moccasins.
Boys’ Casual Uniform
All of the above remain in effect, with the substitution of the navy uniform polo shirt for the oxford shirt, tie, and V-neck. The uniform polo is required. A plain white, short sleeve tee shirt that does not extend below the navy polo is to be worn beneath the polo. The Kennedy Catholic polo must be tucked in, and a brown or black belt must be worn. The casual crew-neck uniform logo sweatshirt may be worn over the polo for extra warmth, if needed. This is a recommended item. Nte: If the student chooses to wear the uniform sweatshirt, it does not replace the polo, and the polo collar should be worn so that it shows outside the sweatshirt.
Boys’ and Girls’ Gym Uniforms
Boys are girls are required to wear a Kennedy Catholic gym uniform. The gym t-shirt and shorts can be purchased from Liebman’s at https://www.liebmansuniforms.com. Students may also wear items that they have received from a Kennedy Catholic athletic team. Students are permitted to wear spirit-wear sweatpants or sweatshirts in the cooler months. Spirit-wear items may be purchased in the school store.
General Uniform Guidelines
- The uniform polo, sweater, vest, and crew-neck sweatshirt must have the school uniform logo.
- The dates for the changes between the casual and dress uniforms will be determined only by the administration and will be communicated to the KCPS community by the administration as indicated on the school calendar.
- Students will wear the uniform when representing KCPS at off-campus functions.
- Hats and hoods are to be removed upon entering the building.
- A student who arrives to school in non-uniform attire may be required to remain in the main office until a parent arrives with proper attire. A student who is not in proper uniform will not be permitted to attend classes until the situation is remedied, or will receive a uniform detention.
- Students are expected to be properly groomed in order to attend classes; anyone in need of grooming attention will address it in the health office. This includes (but is not limited to) facial shaving or nail polish removal, as needed.
- Boys are to be clean shaven. Hair must be cut, neatly combed, may not hang over the shirt collar, ear or face, and may not be bushy around the side. The following arranged in any style are not permitted: spiked hair, mohawks or mohawk fades, bleached or dyed hair, themed or bizarre hair. The dean will determine whether a haircut is appropriate and any inappropriate haircut must be remedied.
- Non-uniform sweatshirts are not to be worn during the uniform school hours. Hoodies are not allowed.
- Uniform crew-neck sweatshirts are only to be worn during the casual uniform period, and over the polo.
- At no time is a long sleeve shirt to be worn under a short sleeve polo.
- Jogger style khaki pants are not permitted.
- The following are not permitted: fad haircuts such as mohawks or mohawk fades, bleached or dyed hair, choker chains or choker necklaces, chains hanging from pants pockets, tattoos, face/ear/tongue or other body piercings (with the exception of a small pair of earrings for the girls), excessive or inappropriate makeup, jewelry, or nail polish.
- Camelback backpacks or any other hydration-type backpacks are not permitted during the school day.
- Backpacks or large bags are required to be stored in the student’s assigned locker prior to the beginning of homeroom until the end of period 8.
Availability of Uniform Items
- Flynn & O’Hara: Uniform khaki kilt, khaki pants, uniform logo polo shirts, sweaters, vests, crew-neck sweatshirts, white oxford shirts (and pastel for the seniors), belts, tights, shoes
To ensure that your daughter has a properly-fitted kilt for the start of the current school year, the following information was provided from Flynn & O’Hara in order to help meet your kilt uniform-ordering needs. They may be contacted directly by phone at (800) 962-4816, or online at www.flynnohara.com
- For the torso: It is possible to use a measurement either around the waist or around the top of the hip. Please choose the one that provides the better, more comfortable fit.
- For the length: The XL length provides an extra two inches. For example, a kilt with 19” length will change to 21” length if ordered as an XL.Kilts may be put on Special Order for up to 23” in length. This type of order may take 4 to 6 weeks to fill.
- The end result needs to be a comfortable fit and a conservative business, professionally neat appearance, with the kilt length ending at the knee. This allows for active, uninterrupted participation in the academic activities at school.
- Kennedy Catholic School Store (as available): gym uniform, casual uniform logo crew-neck sweatshirts, spirit wear (not team-related)
- Local retail stores: white blouse, tights, white oxford shirts, belts, shoes
Special Notes
- All students are expected to comply with the school’s uniform dress code. Wearing the Kennedy uniform is part of the school’s requirement for all matriculating students. The inability to meet this requirement will render a student ineligible to attend classes. The inability to wear the complete uniform renders an individual ineligible to be a Kennedy student. Any exception to this rule must be granted by the administration.
- Students who are unable to fully comply with the school’s uniform policy because of doctor’s orders recognized by the administration may not be allowed to participate in any school-sponsored athletic or extracurricular event.
- The school administration reserves the right to judge new trends as they emerge on the market and to determine if they are in conformity with the dress code and other school regulations. The administration also reserves the right to alter the existing dress code, or other regulations, based on student behavior and performance for the good of the school.
Important Documents
Students who wish to participate in sports must register with ArbiterSports (formerly Family ID). (click here to register now)
Click on this link to find out more about our Cafeteria service. You can create
a MyKidsSpending Account by using your child’s student ID number which is included on documents in the paper mailing.
Students who wish to participate in sports must register with ArbiterSports (formerly Family ID). (click here to register now)
Click on this link to find out more about our Cafeteria service. You can create
a MyKidsSpending Account by using your child’s student ID number which is included on documents in the paper mailing.
Students who wish to participate in sports must register with ArbiterSports (formerly Family ID). (click here to register now)
Junior College Process Timeline
Click on this link to find out more about our Cafeteria service. You can create
a MyKidsSpending Account by using your child’s student ID number which is included on documents in the paper mailing.
Students who wish to participate in sports must register with ArbiterSports (formerly Family ID). (click here to register now)
Senior College Process Timeline
Click on this link to find out more about our Cafeteria service. You can create
a MyKidsSpending Account by using your child’s student ID number which is included on documents in the paper mailing.