The Cooper School Daily

A Week of Art and Culture

Walking and Talking Art

On Thursday, January 31st, The Cooper School hosted the annual Art Walk. Each student in Grades K-8 had several pieces of art displayed in gallery style around the school. Each student also wrote an Artist Statement about why they like Art and what inspires them. Parents and family members were able to visit and enjoy all of the works adorning the walls. One of the artists that 1st Grade students studied this year was Henri Matisse. 1st Graders painted their own still life paintings of apples in the style of Matisse. We are so grateful to Mrs. Kerry for teaching us every week and sharing her passion and enthusiasm for Art with us! We are equally appreciative to all the parent volunteers who so carefully and thoughtfully hung the art! Thank you for all your hard work!

Reading our Way Through Australia

1st Grade has been engaged in a unit on the fascinating continent of Australia. In Reading Workshop, scholars have been reading nonfiction books about Australia and learning about and identifying text features, such as Table of Contents, Headings, Bold Words, Captions, Photographs, Glossary, and Index. Readers have also been practicing asking questions and reading to find the answers, and comparing and contrasting books that they read. Some of the facts we have learned about Australian fauna (that’s another word for animals of a particular region!) have been truly unbelievable! Did you know that there are three times as many sheep than people living in Australia or that a platypus is highly poisonous? How about these fun facts–koalas sleep for about twenty hours per day and there are over fifty species of kangaroos and wallabies! Wow, mate!

A Compliment Goes a Long Way!

In Writing Workshop, scholars have been working on writing compliment books that they will exchange with their peers and teachers on Valentine’s Day. Prior to writing, we discussed as a group, what makes a good compliment and what kind of razzle dazzle language we can use to really make our writing pop! Each student and teacher will receive a compliment book with heartfelt, thoughtful compliments that they can keep and treasure.

Important Dates:

  • Friday, February 8th– Grade 1 Playdate, 3:15-4:30, Brittlebank Park
  • Thursday, February 14th -Valentine’s Day concert
  • Monday, February 18th- No School
  • Tuesday, February 19th- Half day (11:30- Dismissal)