Love Notes are a beloved tradition at Cooper School. At a recent prospective Kindergarten event, a current parent brought along a few of the notes his daughter had received and completely won over the room (we didn’t even ask him to!). He compared the weekly messages they receive — notes like, “You were on it today with your listening ears. We are so proud of you.” — to the updates friends of theirs receive from their kindergartener’s schools, which often sound more like, “Your child struggled with counting to 20 this week.”
Both types of communication share important information. But the difference between a teacher-to-student relationship rooted in love and encouragement and one focused solely on reporting concerns makes a tremendous difference in the school experience for everyone.
Love notes become a bit more verbal in middle school – this week I’ve heard, “I’m proud of you for having realistic expectations”, “I know that it’s hard, and I also know that you can do it”, “That was a really mature way of handling that.” All of those statements were said eye to eye, teacher to student, human to human.
If I were to share some love notes to students and families, I might say:
Families:
- “You are raising really cool people, and we’re lucky to know them.”
- “Your trust in us is energizing and inspiring.”
- “Seeing you in the car line makes my day a little brighter.”
Students:
- “You are developing a strong sense of self-confidence during a really tricky time.”
- “You are so resilient. I love watching you find your way through hard things.”
- “I can see your empathy and leadership grow during clusters.”
I hope our students and families feel the immense love that fills this community. It’s a love of teaching and learning, a love of helping shape good humans, and a love of guiding children through the sometimes confusing world of middle school. That love is what brings us to school each day with smiles on our faces and a daily commitment to care. We love Cooper, we love your children, we love you, and we love what we do. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Upcoming Dates:
- February 16-17 – February Break (No School)
- Please fill out this form for James Island County Parks. We will be doing PE there starting soon!
- February 27 – Middle School Dance!!
ELA: 8th graders read further into Six Crimson Cranes this week, with a close eye on any storytelling similarities or differences between Cranes’s Chinese influences and their chosen cultures. Many students were able to identify common patterns and stark diversions between cultures, adding them to their folklore and symbology portfolios (Due 2/20). Students also tested their grammar on Thursday and can share those grades with you this weekend.
Next week, 8th grade will complete the novel and share their folklore findings with the class. They will also begin a vocabulary unit.
Science: This week in Science, 8th graders continued developing their science fair projects. Students compiled research and began designing methods for their investigations, thoughtfully considering how to test their questions in meaningful and reliable ways.
Next week, students will finalize their methods and begin writing their background research, continuing to build the skills of scientific thinking, organization, and communication that support strong independent inquiry.
Social Studies: We have continued our study of WW1 and the role citizens and propaganda played early in the war. We looked at primary sources as well as posters used during the war itself. Next week we will look at how the USA joined the war and our role in its conclusion
Math: This week in math, 8th graders began exploring the geometric properties of circles – we defined arcs, chords, curves, and inscribed angles. We also dove into tangent lines, and used them to help us analyze triangles and quadrilaterals inscribed in circles. Next week, we’ll continue this exploration with circles in triangles to help use analyze part to whole ratios along with more arcs and radii.
