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, 6th graders selected a piece of art to bring to next week’s art class – they have grand plans to “transpose” this master work into a new medium with Ms. Henslee. In our class, they wrote a poem to pair with their selected piece. We began discussing which two poems from the last 3 weeks of study will be displayed/read at our Spread the Word event on April 16th.
Next week, 6th grade will edit and refine their “spotlight” poems and art pieces for Spread the Word. They will also be heading to The Gibbes Museum next Thursday to survey some art and write some poetry in the wild. Students 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, 6th grade engineers began developing portfolios for their biomimicry designs. Students used a 3D modeling program to bring their ideas to life, testing and refining their concepts while working through potential challenges in their designs. This process allowed students to apply scientific thinking and creativity as they translated nature-inspired ideas into possible solutions.
Next week, students will begin working on video pitches for their products, practicing how to clearly communicate their ideas and the natural inspiration behind their designs.
Social Studies: Sixth grade has been working so hard on their Roman ghost tour projects! I am so proud of them and their commitment to making this successful. We have also 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. I am looking forward to see you all next Friday for their ghost tour presentation as we finish next week getting ready for Friday.
Math: This week in math, 6th graders continued applying their newfound knowledge of negative numbers to the coordinate plane, and practiced plotting points in the 4 different quadrants. We also learned about some patterns and rules for multiplying and dividing negative numbers. 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 will wrap up unit 7 with our end of unit assessment on Wednesday!
