It was so wonderful to see all of you who attended parent-teacher conferences and thank you for making the time to meet with us! This week the middle schoolers have had a multitude of project presentations that have really showcased their hard work, talent, and creativity. We also have the Harvest Festival coming up this week! Make sure you are here on the 18th for a fun filled day on our beautiful campus!

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


What’s happening in Science?
Yay!!! They finished! Thank you for celebrating their hard work at their presentation!

Fifth graders dove into their next unit about living systems. They contemplated the connections of organisms on a phylogenetic tree. They chose an animal that they will research and then add to the middle school “Tree of Life.” They will learn about where they fit in the food chain, adaptations that help them survive, and more about their ecosystem.



What’s up in ELA?

Fifth grade are working diligently on their nonfiction unit. This week, they have worked on finding main details and supporting details. In grammar, they learned that when writing numbers in academic/formal writing, they spell out numbers that can be expressed in one or two words, like eleven and three hundred. Students also reviewed the correct way to use commas. Next week, we will be working on identifying main ideas and supporting details.

Finally, signed papers for ELA will be sent home every Monday. Please make sure to check with your child every Monday afternoon for their ELA signed papers.

What’s going on in Math?

We are nearing the end of our fraction division and multiplication unit. Today, we started putting it all together and will review and assess at the beginning of next week. It was very nice to see some of you during conferences and I am hopeful that you gained a clearer insight to your child’s day here at The Cooper School. I wanted to share with all of you that I do send “Cool Down’s” home almost daily so that you can see what it is your student is learning, their strategies, and my notes. I am hopeful this will keep us on the same page and provide consistent communication about what’s happening in math.

What’s happening in Social Studies?
Fifth Grade students finished their studies of North America this week. We looked at the differences between Canada and the United States today and challenged ourselves by mapping not only the states, but also the provinces of Canada!

Next week, we will be diving deeper into Central America and looking at early civilizations and empires through Spanish colonization. Students will then be challenged to create a timeline of events from early Central America through colonization.


Important Dates:

November 18- Harvest Festival (11:30 Dismissal)
November 21-25 Thanksgiving Break (No School)