My advisory group leapt onto longboards last week for off-campus P.E. at James Island County Park. Some students cut through the air and pushed their boards along with ease, others (and their teacher) scooted along at a slower pace. We were never not a team, though, cheering one another on and never forgetting to check on those who were taking a more cautious approach. Not a single student was discouraged by their differences. Even those who took a slower approach expressed total relaxation and pride in themselves. It was a perfect picture of who we are as ‘Cooper School Kids.’ Our longboard-learning may have looked a little different student to student, but we stayed united in our pursuit of a common destination. No matter how we boarded, everyone’s learning was in the ‘doing.’ Even on a skateboard, our progressive education values and Cooper School kindness shined through.

I hope our parents see glimpses of such values at home, as well. Perhaps it’s the next thing you can discuss at the dinner table or over homework. Let’s keep applauding such unity in uniqueness, kindness, and experiential learning in our kids.


-MK




Here’s a look at what is happening in each of the classes:


What’s happening in Science?
Seventh graders picked their topics for their Ted Talks this week! Some students are researching Elon Musk and his space exploration, while others are focusing on NASA and its past and present. All around the topics are relevant to space exploration today and its impact on our society. Seventh graders also explored the surface of Mars using Google Mars. They considered what landforms are created by lava flows and which could be created by water. Next week, they will explore landforms on Venus to compare the surface of another terrestrial planet to our home planet.

What’s up in Math?
This week, students continued exploring scaled copies and their scale factors before they took their Mid-Unit Assessment on Wednesday. They finished off the week by studying figure dilation, which continues into next week! Then, students will investigate similar figures and their differences from congruent figures by revisiting triangles and other polygons.

What’s happening in ELA?
Seventh graders worked on plotting their stories and beginning pages this week. This shortened version of the main plot points of their fictional story created a ‘map’ they followed and expanded on to write full, detail-rich scenes. They had a full rough draft by the end of the week.

Next week, we’ll work on the art of editing, focusing on syntax and pacing as we move our stories towards publishing.

What’s going on in Social Studies?

This week, the students finished creating their own colony based on historic facts. The student’s were then able to dive into colonial society and complete a diary entry of a day in the life of a colonial citizen. Students worked on video analysis by watching two informative short videos about the Middle Passage to then discuss what was learned. This week was completed by the students receiving a study guide for their assessment next week.

Next week, the students will be assessed over colonial life. Students will then dive into their Revolutionary unit by focusing on the new vocabulary terms before beginning the content on the French and Indian War. Students will move forward in the unit by looking at the different causes of the American Revolution and completing a graphic organizer.

Important Dates:

Monday-Tuesday, October 9-10 Fall Break