“What makes The Cooper School…The Cooper School?” is a question the teachers discussed Wednesday morning before the students arrived. We talked about the students’ love for learning, projects, community, inclusivity, and more. However, one comment that stands out was made by Ms. Maggie, when she mentioned how the middle school students are not conforming to the social norm established not just by society, but also by the clicky groups that are typically made in middle schools. Reflecting on her comment, I paid extra attention to the lack of cliche pre-teen norms that are not part of our daily life at school. Yes, there are groups of kids that have common interests and hang-out outside of school with private text chains, however, all groups accept everyone in the middle school for who they are and would consider their feelings. Everyone isn’t wearing the same thing, or talking exactly the same, or afraid to show their true selves. Middle school can be such a tricky time, when adolescents are figuring themselves out through peer approval. It’s pretty special to see our kids figuring themselves out without the typical judgment that can make this period hard.
-LD
Math:
This week, we learned some more strategies to help us understand equivalent ratios, and how we can use ratios in our everyday lives. Next week, we’ll continue comparing ratios and take a mid-unit assessment on Tuesday, September 24th. More to come about this in an email! Afterwards, we’ll begin exploring scale and how it applies to ratios.
ELA:
This week, 6th grade writers enjoyed the art of pre-writing via list making, journaling, observations, and word association in hopes of unraveling vivid memories to retell in personal narratives. We pushed ourselves to select scenes from our lives that represented colorful conflict that lends itself to traditional story structure. We also began our first grammar unit of the year. They began preparing and can continue to prepare for their grammar test next Thursday.
Next week, we will learn how to gain inspiration from other authors and challenge ourselves to play with a variety of “openers” to begin a story strong.
Social Studies:
Sixth graders have finished their Mesopotamia unit and worked hard and did well on their exam of this culture. We have begun studying ancient Egypt and are looking at the great pyramids as well as other great building structures. We will then move onto their Gods and religion. This is a fun unit with a lot of projects the students will enjoy!
Science:
This week, sixth graders learned about renewable and non-renewable resources. They learned how fossil fuels are made and why they take so long to be created. The sixth graders took a quiz to see how many Earths are required to support their lifestyle and then came up with ideas that could reduce their ecological footprint. The sixth graders also started to plan their Climate Change Ted Talks by brainstorming and researching solutions to climate change.
Important Dates:
October 14 & 15: Fall Break- No School
October 31: Halloween Carnival (11:30 Dismissal)
