Message from Principal Randall
The
start of a new school year is always exciting.
With almost three hundredo hundred seventh grade students attending Cooper Prep, the first day of school went very smoothly. But even when you plan everything to the last
little details things happen. We all
arrived the first day of school with no air conditioning, and, of course, it
was one very hot day.
We survived..…and since then, everything has been clear sailing.
At Cooper, we seek to
accomplish a great deal in two years. We
believe each student has a special array of talents. Teachers bring a great amount of enthusiasm
and energy to school each day; they are eager to enlighten students with the
golden nuggets of knowledge to help students be successful in life. Our goal is
to prepare our students to be informed, productive, and responsible
citizens.
The Cooper staff is
committed to prepare our students to be 21st century learners. The teachers will be designing instructional
tasks which require critical thinking and problem solving skills; rigor will be
increased to the appropriate level for each student, and assessments will allow
students to demonstrate the skills they have learned. In addition, we want to teach our students to
be self-advocates; we will be working closely with the parent community to
accomplish this goal.
We truly are a family here
at Cooper. We celebrate the joyous
occasions and come together in sad times to support one another. The expectations are the same for the
students, teachers, staff, and administrators.
Everyone needs to be respectful, responsible, honest, caring, and
fair. With this strong commitment to
these important character traits, Cooper is an outstanding school. I am proud to be a part of the Cooper
family.
We look forward to an extraordinary year together.
Arlene Randall
Principal
Thank you to the PTO for the delicious lunch you provided the staff at the beginning of the school year
Welcome to Cooper's New Staff
We would like to welcome the following new staff members to our Cooper family.
- Val Arduini - PE & Health
- Evan Bedor - Computer Solutions
- Kent Blakeney - US History
- Beth Chung - English
- Jennifer Fabbri - Civics
- Katie Geary - Math
- Connor Hahler - PE & Health
- Ashley Hart - Math
- Sarah Hartman - Science
- Candice Hillman - PE & Health
- Magda Jofre - Spanish
- Chelsea Kohl - Math
- Jessica Krauss - English
- Drew Lane - US History
- Alex Singer - Music
- Tara Williams - Family and Consumer Science
7th Grade Cooper Prep Teachers
Student of the Month
Student of the Month is a child who represents a model Cooper student by being well prepared, organized, turns in assignments in a timely manner, works well with others, and participates in class activities with a cooperative attitude. They continuously make an effort to be successful and responsible. This student is a positive leader and sets a fine example for other students.
The students of the month for October are:
- Natalie Nazemi - Shenandoah
- Elizabeth Ramchand - Sequoia
- Reese Kelly - Acadia
- Cristina Sayegh - Everglades
- Tuva Storengen - Yellowstone
- Rebecca Lacy - Denali
AMC 8 Mathematics Competition
This year, Cooper will again be participating in the
Mathematical Association of America’s mathematics competition, otherwise known
as the AMC 8. The test will be given on Tuesday, November 14th
during Block 2 and QST.
AMC 8 is a well-known mathematics competition for middle school students in
sixth through eighth grade. Over 150,000 students take the test annually
around the world. It is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination
designed to promote the development of problem-solving skills. The AMC 8 provides an opportunity for
students to develop positive attitudes towards analytical thinking and
mathematics that can assist in future careers.
Students apply classroom skills to unique problem-solving challenges in
a low-stress and friendly environment.
Topics include everyday mathematics, number sense, estimation, percentages,
spatial visualization, geometry, probability and reading and interpreting
graphs. Top scoring students receive recognition through special honors
and awards. None of the problems require
the use of Algebra or a calculator.
Sample problems can be found at https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/2016_AMC8_PracticeProblems.pdf
If your child is interested in participating in this contest, you can
register your child and pay the $3.00 registration fee at www.myschoolbucks.com
(Search for AMC 8 Math Competition). Because of our deadline to order the
materials, we need your reservation by Thursday
October 12th. No
reservations can be accepted after that time.
If you or your child has any questions, please contact Lisa Walsh at lswalsh1@fcps.edu.
Staff and students both had fun at the Ice Cream Social held after school on September 28.
Picture Day is coming!
On Thursday, October 26, all students will have their pictures taken during PE class. Picture forms are being sent home with students on Tuesday, October 24. These are the pictures that will be used for our yearbook. More details on ordering your pictures will be available in the coming weeks.
Communications
We try to minimize the number of Keep in Touch (KIT) messages we send out. The following two weekly communications will be sent on a regular basis:
- Wednesday - KIT form Cooper PTO
- Sunday - KIT from Cooper
When there are emergencies or important information, we will send out additional KITs.
Ms. Wright's art class met outside in the garden.
Cooper Yearbook Information
Order your yearbook today at a
reduced price! All orders must be placed online:
https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/index.cfm/job/5267
Also, the yearbook staff is looking for great photos of
your students! Please email any photos to cooperyearbook@gmail.com. We
will accept any and all photos for possible publication, but would prefer:
Candid photos
Jpeg images
Summer photos
First day of school photos
Weekend activities
Sports
Community service
Family/friend
Holiday/birthday photos
Absent/Tardy/Early Dismissal/Student Reminders
Absent/Tardy: Please call the 24-hour attendance line at
703-442-5858 or email us at cooperattendance@fcps.edu if your child is going to be absent. Retrieval of absentee messages is
usually completed by 9:00 am. If we
have not heard from you by this time, you will receive an automated phone call
and email message from our principal requesting that you call the attendance
line and let us know the reason for your child’s absence. Failure to notify the attendance office
will result in an unverified or unexcused absence on your child’s
record. Please help us maintain an
accurate attendance record for your child.
STUDENTS WHO ARE TARDY MUST REPORT TO THE FRONT OFFICE AND SIGN IN
BEFORE PROCEEDING TO CLASS.
Early Dismissals: Please be considerate of your child’s
teachers and classmates by sending a note to school with your child on any day
early dismissal is required. This note
is to be presented to the front office upon arrival at school, and your child will
sign our early checkout list. Your child
will then be given a pink slip to show to the appropriate teacher for early
dismissal. For your child’s safety, you
are required to come to the office, show appropriate picture ID, and sign your
child out. PLEASE HELP THE FRONT
OFFICE BY ENCOURAGING YOUR STUDENT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS OR HER EARLY
DISMISSAL.
Student Reminders: When your
child forgets something, please remind him/her to check in the front office
following each class to see if it has arrived.
Forgotten lunches will be taken
to the cafeteria. We
are trying to avoid interrupting classes, so that we can maintain a focused
learning environment in each classroom.
Credit Exam for World Languages
The
Credit Exam for World Languages is designed to assess students’ native language
proficiency and enable them to earn one or two credits toward fulfilling the
world languages requirement for the Advanced Studies Diploma. If your child
is a native speaker of another language and you are interested in taking
this exam, please have your student stop down and meet with his/her
counselor. Please note that registration closes at 4:00 p.m. on
Wednesday, October 11, 2017.
In
order to sign up, we will need to know the following information:
-
Language of credit exam to be taken: (American Sign
Language, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali/Bangla, Chinese/Mandarin,
Farsi/Persian, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali,
Pashto*, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit/Samskritam, Somali, Spanish,
Tagalog/Pilipino, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinia, Twi, Urdu, and Vietnamese.)
- Choose one of the dates/times/locations listed below:
West Potomac High School - November 2, 2017, 4:00 p.m.
Falls Church High School - November 8, 2017, 4:00 p.m.
Madison High School - November 1, 2017, 4:00 p.m.
Additional information can be found here: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/world-languages/credit-exam-world-languages
Important Dates to Remember
10/3 PTO meeting at 7:00 pm in Room 130
10/9 Holiday
10/13 Drama field trip
10/17-18 Health screening for 7th grade
10/24 Parent Network Coffee
10/26 Picture Day
10/31 Candy Gram Distribution
11/3 End of 1st quarter; 2 hour early release
11/6-7 Student holiday
11/8 2nd quarter begins
11/10 Veterans Day Open House
11/14 AMC 8 Competition
11/15-18 Fall play
11/22 2 hour early release for Thanksgiving holiday
11/23-24 Thanksgiving holiday break
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