The end of a trimester, or the end of any period of time, can be hard and stressful work, but I knew going into self-assessment that the TCS middle schoolers would deliver and, boy, did they deliver! As I’m sure you saw while watching your child’s presentation, our students put so much effort, thought, and intentional reflection into their self-assessment presentations. We should be nothing short of extremely proud of them. Taking time to look back and reflect on growth can be a challenging and sometimes uncomfortable process, however reflection is vital if we want to set realistic and attainable goals for ourselves. The Cooper Kids are always striving high, and I hope this period of reflection encourages them to continue doing so!

-AG

What’s happening in Science?

Fifth graders began their chemistry study this week. They learned about atoms, molecules, and matter! They looked specifically at electrons, protons, and neutrons and how some molecules bond together. The seventh graders also learned about the periodic table of elements and are making their own interactive periodic table of elements using Google Slides. They will be studying chemistry for the next few weeks and will continue to learn more about each of the elements as they complete their table.

What’s happening in Math?

This week 5th graders reviewed for their test that they took on Thursday before we dove into coordinate planes! Next week, we will plot points and create quadrilaterals on a coordinate plane, then we will learn to sort, describe, and explore the hierarchy of quadrilaterals!

What’s happening in ELA?

5th graders started self-assessment week off strong, celebrating their work so far with teachers and parents. As we moved back to our regular schedule, poets continued to build their sonnets, incorporating figurative language into their second stanza and creating a dramatic twist or “shift” in the third stanza’s tone or subject matter. We continued to study the themes and trace the wild plotting of Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Next week, 5th graders will finish their sonnets and Shakespeare study. In tandem with studying some stage and film performances of Midsummer Night’s Dream, we will work on performing our completed sonnets as we look forward to presenting them to parents next month.

What’s happening in Social Studies?

In Social Studies, the fifth graders worked towards understanding the Eurasia part of the world. We studied the emergence of Russia and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union! Students created a timeline of events that led to the communist government within Russia! This will lead us into Asia! 

Next week, the students will begin by learning the new vocabulary terms that are centered around our Asian Unit. We will be splitting the continent into West and East days. For example, next Tuesday, we will be learning about the history and common beliefs in Western Asia, before doing the same for Eastern Asia on Wednesday! Students will have a variety of diary entries and exit tickets to assess their understanding. 

Important Dates:

March 23-April 1: Spring Break