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:
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ELA: This week in ELA, 7th grade poets studied George Ella Leon’s Where I’m From poem, mimicking her style to further explore identity poetry rooted in place and memory. Bring in pictures from home and pouring over magazines, poets also began identity collages to pair with their poetry. We began considering which two poems would be presented at Spread the Word on April 16th, diving into the rewriting and refining process.
Next week, 7th grade poets edit and neatly transpose final poems to finish this unit. They have a grammar test planned for Thursday 3/19, so be sure to use those study guides each night until that day!
Science: This week in Science, 7th graders dug deeply into the scientific literature related to their Science Fair topics. Students located and analyzed articles to strengthen their understanding of their topics and to inform how they will collect and interpret data. They also wrote their literature reviews, learning how scientific reports are structured differently from traditional ELA papers. By the end of the week, students finalized clear plans for carrying out their investigations.
Next week, students will begin conducting their experiments and collecting data. While they will continue to have time in class to work on their science fair projects, students will also begin exploring chemical interactions and the world of chemistry.
Social Studies: Seventh grade is starting to wrap up Antebellum America, as we looked into lifestyles of the north and south, the rise of new states in the western territories as well as slavery and the abolitionist movement. We also have been 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 finish Antebellum America by looking at the election of Lincoln and the separation of the southern states into the Confederacy and the beginning of the Civil War.
Math: This week in math, 7th graders took a mid-unit quiz over the first half of unit 6 – which assessed their understanding of the foundations of functions, independent and dependent variables, and rates of change within a function. We continued on with unit 7, with more explorations of functions as we learned and practiced the volume equations for different three dimensional solids. 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 begin wrapping up their unit as we practice finding the volume of more complex figures. They’ll receive a study guide on Tuesday!
