Student Led Conferences
On Monday of this week, our First Graders invited their parents into the classroom to discuss their growth and progress. Few schools choose to make conferences student-led, but the value is clear. Students take ownership of their learning and growth and must reflect not only on what they do well, but also which areas need work. For six and seven year-olds, this is important work. Students took parents through four centers to discuss their progress: Science/Social Studies, Math, Reading and Writing, and the Portfolio Center. Parents were surprised at how articulately students could speak about what they had learned and what they still had to learn. Bravo, students!

Reading Workshop 
This week our exciting Cynthia Rylant unit came to an end. To celebrate, we wrote letters to Ms. Rylant and read our favorite Cynthia Rylant book to Kindergarten friends. In our letters, students praised Ms. Rylant’s work and wrote about what they liked about her writing, their favorite books of hers, and questions they had about her inspiration and writing process. We also had a great time sharing our favorite books with the Kindergarten class. Every partnership and small group found a cozy spot to enjoy a good story together. We loved this author study!

Poetry
We kicked off our poetry unit this week! In both Reading and Writing Workshop, students began exploring poems and poets. Each child received a special poetry journal and began composing their own poems on day 1. We learned that poets write about what matters to them, poets are inspired by nature, and poets often focus on rhythm and rhyme as they write. Poetry is a big deal at The Cooper School, and we were thrilled to start this whole-school poetry study this week!

Important Dates
•   Monday, March 13 – Polar Presentation, 2:00pm, TCS Library
•   Friday, March 24 – Stingrays Family Sun Night, 7:00-9:30pm
•   Thursday, March 20 – Parent Forum, TCS Library, 5:45-6:45pm
•   Saturday, March 25 – Planting Party, TCS backyard 9:00am