The Cooper School Daily

Here’s the Scoop from this week at The Cooper School!

February is here! Go out and show your love to the people around you, there is caring energy in the air! This week we have been working on how to show others empathy throughout the school day as well as in their everyday lives. Here are some fun facts about the month of February that you may or may not have previously known!

  • February is the only month to have a length of fewer than 30 days! Though it’s usually 28 days, February is 29 days long in leap years such as 2020 and 2024. 
  • January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar (c. 713 BC); originally, winter was considered a month-less period. 
  • Originally, February was made the last month of the calendar year. Eventually (c. 450 BC), February was moved to its place as the second month.

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

What’s happening in Science?

Sixth graders discussed, cultivated, observed, researched, and learned about microorganisms this week! They learned how to culture an agar plate by selecting a location in the classroom they think has bacteria. Well, they definitely got their answers! By the end of week, we have many different colonies of bacteria growing in the petri dishes with samples from the tea cart, a sock, pencils, the floor, and more. The sixth graders have also tried to grow fungi on bread this week to see where in the room fungus may be hiding. Next week, they will contemplate where they think bacteria and fungi may be living amongst us around the school. Can’t wait!

What’s up in ELA?

This week sixth graders are polishing up their literary essays. Students were expected to use MLA for the cover sheet, in-text citations, and the bibliography. Students also took their grammar week twelve and figurative language assessment.

Next week, students will be working on preparing for self-assessments and beginning a new reading unit titled “Tapping the Power of Nonfiction.” Nonfiction is a broad genre of writing that encompasses all books that aren’t rooted in a fictional narrative. Nonfiction writing can be based in history and biography, it can be instructional, it can offer commentary and humor, and it can ponder philosophical questions. If a book is not rooted in a made-up story, then it is nonfiction (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/learn-about-nonfiction).

Feel free to take your child to the library to pick out a nonfiction book they may be interested in.

What’s going on in Math?

Hi everyone! The 6th graders finished a unit this week! And we all know what that means: an

assessment. We reviewed a lot for it, covered all the topics, and went through a lot of examples,

until there were no surprises left. Seems to have worked, because they did well on it. For the

few points missed, they can get half of them back by submitting corrections to me by the end of

the week. Assessment over, new unit begins! We’re on Unit 5 now, which is all about

proportional relationships. What makes these connections proportional is that they start with

nothing…literally. If you spend 0 money, you buy 0 products; If you walk for 0 hours, you travel 0 distance. Once you start walking, it’s calculated at a steady rate – a constant: Let’s say 15

minutes per mile. Once you start buying, you pay the same amount for each pound: $5 for each

pound of cherries. We get caught up sometimes in how unrealistic some of the scenarios are,

like with prices from the Andy Griffith show rather than 2023, but it brings up an important point

to follow: In Math, if they don’t tell you it is, it isn’t. For now we’re doing proportional

relationships in tables, but I expect we’ll be graphing them very soon, starting at the crosshairs

on the graph where everything is 0, and shooting out lines that match the answer to the

problem.

What’s happening in Social Studies?

Students dove deep into the Roman Republic and the transition it took to become the powerful Empire that it once was. Students were challenged to master the society and the fall of the republic and teach their peers what they learned. 

Next week, the students will be diving into the Empire and the transition to becoming the Byzantine Empire. Students will then compare life in the Ancient Greek, Rome, and Byzantine Empires. 

Important Dates:

  • February 14 – Valentine’s Day Bake Sale, Book Fair, and Bingo! (1:15 – 2:45)
  • February 20-21 – February Break (No School)