We long for October at The Cooper School – these Charleston kids know this month could contain the first real refreshing chill of the season, they understand that it represents a month of prepping for the Halloween Carnival of which they proudly take charge, and perhaps subconsciously, these kids feel the unspoken confidence of being well past the bumpy beginnings of a new grade and firmly planted in The School Year proper.
I am grateful for the way October often represents a resetting of our outfits and I think somehow our attitudes, too. This English teacher is so refreshed by the mere idea of a season and month change-up that she’s been overwhelmed with fall figurative language that simply must be shared:
I hope you encourage your student to drop what doesn’t serve them like the first fall leaf.
Let them know how proud we are to look out at them and see every variety of pumpkin in the patch.
May these students know they are safe to experiment in their education like it’s a selection of free Halloween masks.
I believe these kids can face a myriad of fears and challenges like it’s a scary movie that never lasts forever and kind of feels thrilling!
And please know, this school community strives to be like the first sweater slipped on of the season, knitted with careful hands, instantly cozy, and capable of stretching and softening over several years for the brilliant kid who wears it.
-MK
Math:
This week, we used our knowledge of dilations, similar figures, and angles to analyze slope on a coordinate plane. Next week, we’ll take our test to wrap up this unit and begin our unit on linear equations and expressions.
ELA:
7th grade readers continued their survey of the Yukon Gold Rush through the eyes of Buck in Call of the Wild. They began what will be their final grade for the unit – the conflict trading cards project. Be sure to push your readers to put great time and effort into this major grade both at school and at home. This could be great fun if we all put our best foot forward. 7th grade also began their first vocabulary unit of the year.
Next week, 7th graders will finish the novel and actually “play” with their conflict trading cards in class (these cards are due on Thursday 10/10 and a rubric is posted in the google classroom). They will have their first vocabulary test on 10/10 so be sure to study words, definitions, and spellings daily!
Social Studies:
This has been a great week in seventh grade learning about Mesoamerican culture groups and their impact on latin cultures. We had fun exploring groups from Mexico all the way down to Chile! Next week we will start learning about the Spanish conquistadors and the colonization of these areas by the Spanish. This will lead into a small project in which students will research how the Spanish impacted a certain area and culture when they arrived.
Science:
Seventh graders contemplated how climate change is impacting storms on our planet and if we should put more brain power and resources into climate change solutions rather than space exploration. They learned how the rising global temperatures are impacting the temperature of the oceans. The seventh graders also explored Mars’s surface using Google maps. They looked for signs of water and lava, considering if it could have had water at some point in history. Next week, they will continue to work on their climate change projects and learn more about the surface on Mars.
Important Dates:
October 14 & 15: Fall Break- No School
October 28: LeAnn Gardner Parent Presentation (5:30)
October 31: Halloween Carnival (11:30 Dismissal)
