Less Than Two Months Left

 It is hard to believe that we have less than two months of school left. The end of another great year at The Cooper School Middle School is in sight. At this time of the year, some middle schoolers and high schoolers start to slow down. They start feeling less motivated about school and more motivated about summer fun. Here are some tips from North Grand High School in Illinois that may help your middle schooler finish strong:

1. Set Goals

Setting goals for yourself both personally and academically will help you stay on track. Whether your goal is to get straight A’s or pass your AP tests, make your own goals and try your absolute best to achieve them.

2. Stay Organized

Staying organized will prevent you from losing or forgetting about assignments. Keep track of your assignments and test dates in a planner or calendar to stay organized and prepared for upcoming final projects and tests.

3. Don’t put off responsibilities

Slacking and procrastinating are just ways of putting off responsibilities. Putting off school-related responsibilities will leave you scrambling and stressed at the last minute. Do what you need to do when you need to do it, and you will be well on your way to finishing strong!

4. Remember what you’ve worked for

It may help to remind yourself of all the hard work you’ve put in this year. One bad performance on a final test or project could undo all of your efforts for a certain letter grade.

5. Get motivated

It is time to get motivated! Whether you have to bribe yourself with rewards or create penalties for not trying your best, do whatever it takes to stay motivated and beat “summer fever!”

6. Take advantage of the nice weather

As the weather begins to get nicer, you don’t have to stay cooped up inside studying. Get creative by studying and doing homework outside instead!

7. Take a time out

Don’t forget about taking time out of your day to regroup and simply have fun! This will help you stay focused. Giving yourself breaks for fun is good for your sanity and attention span.

8. Adjust your attitude

What is your attitude right now? Are you feeling down? Can you not wait for school to end? Simply adjusting your attitude to be more positive can make an incredible difference!

9. Take care of yourself

Taking care of yourself by eating well, exercising and getting the proper amount of sleep will help you remain focused.   

10. Focus on the finish line

Visualize your finish line- and your goals- and focus on that. The school year is almost over- you can do it! Start a countdown, and don’t worry- the end is near.

If you feel like you need extra help completing the school year, contact a tutor. Tutors will work with you to ensure you are prepared to rock the rest of the school year! Whether you would like to improve upon a specific topic, general test taking skills or college test prep- our tutors will do their best to help you succeed! 

Now get back to your schoolwork so you can finish the rest of this school year strong!

(https://northgrandhs.org/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=514423&id=0)

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

What’s happening in Social Studies?

The eighth graders finished their WW1 unit with a debate! The students debated on which country is to blame for the war. In the Treaty of Versailles, full blame for the war went to Germany. Students were asked to create arguments that supported that claim, but then also to create arguments for the blame to go to Serbia or Austria-Hungary. Students then debated using their findings. 

Students will jump into WW2 next week. While working through the unit, the students will also be reading and discussing the book, Night by Elie Wiesel. Students will also be discussing and learning about the Holocaust in preparation for our visit from Holocaust Survivor, Harry Schneider, on thursday! 

What’s happening in ELA?

Eighth graders have started working on their Dystopian final reading project. Some of the books they are reading are: 

Divergent

Glass Sword

The Handmaiden’s Tale

The 5th Wave: Maze Runner

Dr. Ev is also reading a dystopian book titled The Giver. Your students have also completed Week 15 of grammar prefixes (a- and  be-)/suffixes (-ent and -ant). They will begin week 16 of grammar next week and focus on new prefixes and suffixes.

What’s happening in Science?

Eighth graders learned about evolution this week. They considered how mutations are just mistakes in DNA and they can pose a positive, negative, or neutral change in the individual and its offspring. They looked at different adaptations animals and plants have and why the mutation in the DNA had a positive effect on the survival of the animal, which then helped the species’ fitness overall. They also started a project about “living fossils,” species of animals that have not evolved and look the same as they did millions of years ago. They will research this week and present their findings next week. They will also learn about Darwin’s natural selection next week to wrap up their heredity study.  

What’s happening in Math?

Eighth grade mathematicians have started working with some formulas in addition to the visual representation of quadratic functions. We have briefly touched on factoring and identified standard form vs. factored form. Students know which forms determine which functions on the graph and they are working on graphing quadratic functions from both standard and factored forms of quadratic functions. 

Important Dates:

• April 22- TCS Spring Auction
• April 27- Holocaust Survivor Speaker
• April 27 – Athletic Banquet @ 6:00pm
• May 4- 11:30 dismissal
• May 5- Middle School Dance