“And I just thought, ‘I’m having fun doing this,’” Scharmen said. “This would be perfect for middle school students.”

Scharmen, a part of the Kennedy community team, immediately saw the chance to bring this fun event to the KMS community and Cupertino in general. Scharmen, and teachers Freda Wong and Matt Clough make up the team, which is dedicated to organizing events that bring former, current and incoming KMS students and families together.

Kennedy Middle School is holding a 5k color run for the community on Mar. 13 from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. Due to the drought, they can only throw color on a grass field, so the race begins at KMS’ lower field and ends at Linda Vista Park.  Last year, the team, along with the PTA, held the Kennedy Fall Festival, which attracted thousands of students and family members for a movie night with several activities on the side. The team got a lot of positive feedback from that event and hopes for the same success this time.  Scharmen explained that the PTA and “Montclair moms” have helped realize that hope. He describes the two moms of sixth graders from Montclair Elementary School as yes people. They have been key to planning the details of the race.

“To me, if I can see families together, if I see a mom and her son running, that’s the best,” Scharmen said. “Just positive memories for the community, I think it’s healthy for the school.”

They’re hoping for 500 participants at the race and want to emphasize that the race is for not only KMS students, but the whole community. Scharmen estimates that they’re at about 250 right now. Those who are interested can sign up at the event site and the early bird registration ends Monday Feb. 29.

Additional reporting by Vijeet Chaugule

Correction (Feb. 29): A previous version of the article misspelled Matt Clough’s name and misstated where the race will end. The race begins and ends at Kennedy Middle School.