The theme of this week’s newsletter is derived from this image here: 

I am not sure if you have heard of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” but here is our TCSMS version! It’s truly quite refreshing to see middle school students continue to use their imagination and explore their creative side during their time outdoors. These stools are typically used in our newly constructed outdoor classroom, however, I personally agree that they are so much more fun when utilized as a turtle shell!

This is one reason why The Cooper School is so great. These kids, although they are growing up, they continue to maintain their creative side. It is very evident that each student’s creativity has been fostered from a young age

This week in advisory, we discussed our One Word Resolutions that we will embark on throughout the 2021 school year. Oftentimes, resolutions are not well maintained, therefore we encourage students to choose a word that is meaningful to many aspects of their life, and is also relevant to an area that they would like to reevaluate. Instead of wanting to start up that old gym membership, it might be a good idea to just focus on the word, health, this can apply to eating healthy, working out, staying hydrated, but can also apply to healthy study habits, or a healthy sleep schedule, etc. 

Have you thought of a word that might be meaningful for you at this time? 

What’s happening in Science and Social Studies:

Historians researched Ancient India and created slide presentations to share with their peers. The students did a beautiful job presenting articulately, poised, and academically prepared.

What’s up in Math?

Fifth graders applied their knowledge of fractions to real-world scenarios during their mid-module assessment this week. We continued to dive deeper into fractions, as we built confidence and ensured strong foundations! Sixth graders explored numbers and their opposites as well as plotting integers and rational numbers on horizontal and vertical number lines. Sixth graders continued to dive deeper into this module as we make sense of real-world problems including temperature, sea level, and various other forms of measurement.

In Writing:

Writers presented their fiction writing unit and closed the unit with a final fiction on-demand. We took a day to write about our “One Word” resolutions during centers, and we began our literary essay unit with an all time favorite, the three little pigs, but this time from the perspective of the third and oh so wise pig, who built his house out of bricks. 

Important Dates:

January 18th- MLK Day: No School

February 15-16- Winter Break: No School

February 24- Class Social