While recently listening to a song about growing up and reflecting upon my past years of teaching, it hit me that the students that I taught during my student teaching are now in college and/or starting their careers and the students I had during my first year of teaching are now seniors in high school. Upon further reflection, I realized that the students at The Cooper School may be growing older as the years go on, however, their spirits stay young. The Cooper School allows children to stay children! That is something that we do not see in many schools today. Children are often caught up in the social media outlets and are worried about the next “big thing” that is going to hit the market. While at The Cooper School, we focus on the children interacting with each other face to face rather than by technology. We value outdoor time so that the students have the opportunity to be their true selves. So, while our kiddos are growing up, their spirits are staying young at the Cooper School, and that is something we should cherish as a community.

-KW

What’s happening in Science?
Fifth graders explored microorganisms this week! They learned how to collect samples around the classroom and culture them in an agar plate. They will utilize these skills next week as they hypothesize where they think the most bacteria lives around the school. The fifth graders also considered how viruses and bacteria are spread that cause illness. They performed an epidemic simulation of how Covid spreads to observe how “germs” get passed around. Next week, they will continue to learn more about microorganisms and their impact on our health.


What’s happening in Math?
This week 5th graders explored the same strategies to subtract decimals using place value, mixed adding and subtracting decimals in real-life scenarios, and began studying how to multiply decimals. They took a quiz about adding and subtracting decimals on Thursday. Next week, students will multiply decimals by whole numbers and by other decimals. They’ll take a quiz on Thursday, January 25th on multiplying decimals. Then, they’ll begin exploring decimal division next Friday!


What’s happening in ELA?
5th grade researchers pulled from both their nonfiction novels and outside resources this week to make final adjustments to their non-fiction pocket guides. Students learned how to generate questions to fill in the ‘gaps’ of their research and make meticulous edits to bring their guides to a publishable place. Friday was a celebratory “Pocket Guide Pass Around” where our peers enjoyed reading our topic guides in print.


Next week, 5th graders will transition from grammar studies to their vocabulary workbooks. They will also move into a new writing unit – research based argument essays. Building on our non-fiction reading skills from this past unit, writers will craft evidence-rich essays with well-researched stances on a variety of topics!


What’s happening in Social Studies?
The fifth graders have been working towards the completion of their Greek, Roman, and Byzantine projects. They have turned their information from each of these empires into persuasive arguments to present to you!


Next week, the students will be diving deep into their midterm studies.


Important Dates:
Saturday, January 27 5:30pm-9:00pm – Family Fun Outing – Carolina Stingrays Game
February 19th & 20th- February Break