Little Big Things
As we head into Gala weekend, our theme this year is again Little Big Things. I find this theme especially fitting for the middle school years. During this time, so many little moments in a student’s life turn into big, life-changing memories they will carry with them forever. With events like the talent show, Spread the Word, and the middle school dance, these moments in time fly by and can seem small once they are over. But as adults, we know just how many meaningful memories we are helping students create—memories they will look back on fondly.
So, as we head into this weekend, I will be reflecting on all the small moments I’ve experienced and thinking about how I can help create even more for the students here at Cooper School.
-Kevin
Upcoming Dates:
- March 14 – Little Big Things Gala
- April 1 – Art Night Celebration
- April 3 – 10 – Spring Break
- April 16 – Early Dismissal (11:30) Spread The WordScenes from artist, Anna Chen’s, visit:
ELA: This week in ELA, poets tried to replicate the “heart” or inspirational messaging found in Shel Silverstein’s poetry like Hug O’ War and Where the Sidewalk Ends. They learned line drawing techniques as they tackled illustrating their pieces. Poets then surveyed all the playful poetry they’ve written this unit, selecting one or two pieces to rewrite, refine, edit, and transcribe for Spread the Word on April 16th!
Next week, 5th grade will be deep in transcribing poems to cursive and putting final touches on illustrations . They’ll have their unit 7 grammar test on March 18th, so be sure to use their study guides each night in preparation!
Science: This week in Science, 5th grade microbiologists launched their germ investigation. After defining their research questions, identifying variables, and establishing methods, students followed their experimental design to inoculate their petri dishes. They then began collecting data using multiple methods, allowing them to compare the effectiveness and reliability of different approaches.
Students also started creating infographics about the bacteria they are researching, combining scientific understanding with clear visual communication.
Next week, students will finalize their data collection and begin analyzing their results, drawing conclusions about what their investigations reveal.
Social Studies: Fifth grade has had a busy week working not only on their Asian country project, but also working on our Women’s History Month project. We have looked at famous historical speeches given by women’s suffragists and how women in our society have been making significant contributions in modern society. Next week we will continue with Asian geography and cultures as well as looking into cultural lifestyles in Asia.
Math: This week in math, 5th graders wrapped up their 7th unit of study with more practice on coordinate grids and classifying quadrilaterals and triangles. They took their assessment on Thursday. They also crushed their ERB milestones this week – which helps give us an idea of where they are before they take their official end of year ERB assessment in May. Next week, we’ll dive into our final unit of study which aims to put all of the skills we’ve mastered this year into one – where we revisit, practice, and apply previously mastered skills to help solidify them before 6th grade. We’ll begin with diving back into multi-digit operations like multiplication and division. We won’t have any quizzes or homework for this unit, but we will have one bigger assessment at the end – a “final” if you will!
