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: This week in 6th grade ELA, writers typed first drafts of their blog articles. We carefully considered organization and how to create relevant subheadings to guide their writing. We also reviewed verbals and tested Thursday – be sure to check on your student’s grades and test correction opportunities!
After break, writers will rewrite and edit their pieces before publishing on our own class blog! Students will also begin a new vocabulary unit.
Science: This week in Science, our 6th graders investigated plant transport systems through hands-on exploration. Students observed how xylem carries water by placing celery in dyed water and tracing its movement through the plant. They explored how water travels through plants and exits through stomata, building a deeper understanding of transpiration.
Students also researched plant adaptations for conserving water and shared their learning through slideshows, strengthening both their scientific understanding and communication skills. In addition, students began their Biomimicry Youth Design Project inspired by work from the Biomimicry Institute. I will be sending an email with more information about this project next week.
Next week, students will use our shortened schedule to focus on developing their biomimicry ideas, applying what they’ve learned about nature’s designs to creative problem-solving.
Social Studies: Sixth grade has begun our next unit on ancient Rome and Greece. This unit will have plenty of projects and will be a great unit of study! We have begun with the Greeks and their role in not only ancient times, but how their culture still is seen throughout the world today! Going into next week we will continue on learning about the people, inventions and ideas that came from this civilization.
Math: This week in math, sixth graders explored more with percentages and when we might use them. We played with percentages in scenarios like discount, markup, commission, raises, tips, taxes, etc. They’ve so enjoyed getting to learn about sales tax, tipping, and discounts specifically, as these are concepts they’re super used to seeing in day to day life! Next week, we’ll use the short week to wrap up unit 6 with review and our end of unit assessment.
