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Welcome to Cooper! It’s been great seeing our new and returning families at Pathfinder and Orientation sessions over the last two weeks. The PTO executive board is excited and ready to partner with our Cooper Community throughout the 2023-24 school year. Read on to explore opportunities to get involved.
Join the PTO Today!
Help the PTO to support our Cooper Community of students, teachers and staff, and parents! We are especially looking forward to helping Mr. Klena, our after school activities specialist, continue to expand the after school program with the addition of Cross Country (fall) and Track (spring) , as well as providing curriculum support, classroom technology, and teacher appreciation events throughout the school year.
To provide the most robust support we need YOU. Please consider joining the PTO at $25/family, plus a suggested $125 donation per student.
www.pay4schoolstuff.com
Do you have ideas about how the PTO can best engage with you and your student? Let us know here!
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Volunteer Opportunities: The PTO Needs You!
The PTO exec board has enjoyed meeting many Cooper parents via orientation and open house, and appreciates the offers to continue to collaborate! There is room for at-home parents, working parents, and everyone in between. There are one-time as well as ongoing committee positions available, waiting for YOU! Let us know how you’d like to participate by completing this volunteer form. Come join the team!
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First PTO Meeting of the Year:
Weds, Sept 13, 9AM
Parents of all Cooper students are invited to attend PTO meetings. Our initial meeting will be held in the cafeteria at 9AM on Sept 13. Come meet Principal Barrow, ASA Specialist, Brian Klenna, and Family Liaison, Tracy Rohrbaugh, as well as the PTO Executive Board members. Meetings throughout the year have a hard stop time of 10:30 so that we can clear the cafeteria for the first lunch shift. See you there!
Spirit Wear
What better way to feel a part of the Cooper Community than donning Cooper spirit wear? We will be selling all things COOPER both online at Pay4SchoolStuff as well as in person during Back to School Night, September 7th. We have tons of great tshirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, socks, beanies, car magnets, etc!
Check out prices and styles here: www.pay4schoolstuff.com
Welcome Back Lunch for Teachers and Staff
Teachers and staff were welcomed back to the building with a PTO-sponsored luncheon Aug 17th, prior to open house. A special THANK YOU to our volunteers who arranged the delicious catering via El Tio, which was well-received by the Cooper team.
After School Activities (ASA) Program
The After School Activities program is slated to begin the week of Sept 11, pending confirmation from FCPS transportation. Advise your student to stay tuned via lunchroom announcements and the ASA Schoology page. Current plans for the program include:
- Clubs will begin week of Sept 11, pending transport confirmation
- Sessions run 2:30 - 3:30 (A) and 3:30 - 4:30 (B) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
- Transportation home will be provided by late buses, after B session
- Sign ups for attendance will occur daily in the cafeteria as well as via the Schoology page
- Clubs that are confirmed for Q1 to date are: Basketball, SCA, Science Olympiad, Chess, Coding, SGA, Cooper Buddies, Ambassadors Club, Model UN, Homework Help, Open Library, Dungeons & Dragons, Scale Model Building, with more to come!
- Parents interested in partnering with Mr. Klena to lead a club or activity should contact him at baklena@fcps.edu.
- Parents must grant permission to attend ASA events via this form .
FCPS Middle School Sports Debut
FCPS is rolling out the first of two middle school sports teams this fall, as we introduce Cross Country this fall, followed by track in the spring. Any student enrolled at Cooper who is in good standing may participate. Each athlete must submit either the VHSL or FCPS middle school sports forms available in Schoology prior to Sept 1.
The team will begin practice twice weekly beginning after the week of 9/11, 2:30 - 4:30. The season will last seven weeks, with four meets held on Saturdays at various middle schools throughout the county (transportation from Cooper and back to the school will be provided).
Community Announcements:
The Safe Community Coalition, in partnership with the Temple Rodef Shalom, is proud to host the authors of Raising A Kid Who Can, an event that is sure to help parents - and kids - start the new school year off strong! Learn from a child psychiatrist, a parent psychologist, and a child therapist who have spent years distilling the latest parenting science and best practices to answer the complex question: Based on all that modern science has to offer, what are the most important things I should try to do in raising my kid?
This meet the authors event takes place Wed, Sept 13th at Temple Rodef Shalom (2100 Westmoreland St.). The Presentation and Q&A is 7-8:30 pm with a Book Signing immediately afterward. Books will be available for sale at the event from bookseller Politics and Prose.
More info and registration for this FREE event can be found on the Safe Community Coalition website: https://mcleanscc.org.
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495 NEXT Project Impact on Cooper:
The construction phase for VDOT's 495 NEXT project in which existing express lanes are lengthened approximately three miles from Georgetown Pike to the American Legion Bridge is currently underway, and will last until at 2026. VDOT and FCPS continue to work with our Cooper FCPS construction lead as well as Cooper’s admin team to reduce the impact on Cooper, however parents should expect additional delays at times. 495 NEXT expected impact on Cooper MS
Stay on top of the 495 NEXT project and how it may affect the traffic patterns around the school by regtering with the 495 NEXT project update service .
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Important Dates
Sept 7, 5PM - Back to School Night
Sept 13, 9AM - First PTO General Membership Meeting, featuring Q&A with Principal Barrow
Stay in Touch
This News You Choose email will be sent out weekly, on Thursdays. You can stay on top of what’s going on with the Cooper PTO via these additional avenues:
- Like us on Facebook for regular updates on parent and school events and news
- Check out our web page for more resources, our calendar, updates, and newsletter archives: cooperpto.org
- Come to our monthly general membership meetings
- Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities!
Calendar at a Glance
9/2, 5 Holiday. Labor Day
9/7 Back to School Night/Curriculum Night - in person, spirit wear sales
9/13 PTO General Membership Meeting, 9AM
9/13 VGA Student Treat Day
9/25 Yom Kippur, Holiday
PTO Exec Board
Stefanie Stayin, President president@cooperpto.org
Ann Bauer, 1st VP membership@cooperpto.org
Julia Lookabill, 2nd VP fundraising@cooperpto.org
Christina Saxon, Corr Sec cooperboard@cooperpto.org
Heather Murphy Capps, Rec Sec cooperboard@cooperpto.org
Kelly Hare, Treasurer treasurer@cooperpto.org
Farid Homayounmehr cooperboard@cooperpto.org
Parliamentarian
Have Something to Add to the Cooper PTO News You Choose?
We welcome your news submissions! Send articles or announcements along with any photos or links by noon on Tuesday to president@cooperpto.org for publication on Thursdays. All news should pertain to students and CMS, FCPS or the PTO. Submissions may be edited for style and length. No business advertisements.
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