Welcome back! As we start a new year and a new semester, it is a great time to refocus, set goals, and embrace a new beginning! A great place to start when considering goals is with the acronym S.M.A.R.T. S- Is your goal Specific? (Who, what, when, where, why, how?) M- Is your goal Measurable? (How will you know when you are done?) A- Is your goal Attainable? (Is it realistic to accomplish?) R- Is your goal Relevant? (How does it fit into your life now?) T- Time-bound (When will you achieve your goal? What is your deadline?) Happy Goal Setting and best wishes in 2021!!
Back to business...This week students in English III learned about American Romanticism and Transcendentalism. We discussed the elements of each and will be reading passages from Emerson and Thoreau in the next couple of weeks.
January 11 , 2021 - Regular School Board Meeting @ 5:00 p.m.
Students in Mrs. Schoech's 6th grade Language Arts class participated in an Author's Chair this week to celebrate the culmination of their hard work and creativity during their narrative writing unit.
Kindergarten has been working hard on learning to write their letters the correct way. The students have also learned to write their first, middle and last names by memory. I am very proud of them!!
Mrs. Gasseling's First Grade class has been working hard to improve their writing skills. This week they have created unique creatures to use during their descriptive writing lesson. The students will use descriptive words such as; size, shape, color, and personality traits to write sentences about their unique creatures.
Third grade ended the semester with their forces unit in science. This also tested their measuring and problem-solving skills in math. This introductory unit gave students a new understanding of the invisible pushes and pull that operate in the world around them. They realized that understanding forces will let them do surprising things from building a sturdy bridge from paper to using the pull of a rubber band to send a cardboard “hopper” flying. What students learned in this unit will connect to the world around them, leading them to think about such things as the force of friction as they slide down a playground slide or the invisible force that makes magnets cling to the refrigerator. One of our extension projects was to build foosball tables out of shoeboxes to further their understanding.
Our high school Intro to Chemistry class finished up our last test of the quarter last week. So, for this final week of the quarter, they helped inventory all of the current equipment and supplies in our science lab. They then researched what other science labs around the country have and started to develop a list of new equipment and supplies that our lab will need to support our science curriculum.
Fifth graders designed and created all of our ornaments using recycled art supplies and repurposed items from home!
2nd grade at Cotopaxi has been working very hard learning how to write friendly letters, and they even wrote letters to Santa. We’ve also been working hard on learning money and time. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!
My middle school computer class is programming Spheros (a programmable, interactive sphere!). They have really enjoyed this project!
Be a Hero: Vaccinate to protect others. Talk to your doctor about these vaccines. http://immunizeforgood.com
Here is a photo of Coach C's Physical Fitness Class at Cotopaxi! The students are masked up and ready for some high intense aerobics! As you can see there is an aerobics video on the wall in the background, allowing the students to follow along with the professionals! This is an awesome class and they are always working hard!
The Holidays can be very stressful. Given the COVID situation, things may be extra challenging this year.
Try practicing a 'Mindful Minute'. Take one minute- concentrate and fill your mind with what is happening right now. What can you hear? What can you smell? What can you feel? What can you see? What can you taste?
All your worries will melt away and you will feel calm and relaxed.
In high school ceramics the kids created coil Christmas trees.
Look how excited Cotopaxi high school concert band is to rehearse music this afternoon! We have exciting music coming your way!
Walking Classroom happens every Wednesday for 4th graders!
Cotopaxi Early Learning Center (Preschool) is working on identifying, recognizing and matching their numbers 0-5. The children have made their own cards with the number on it along with the corresponding number of pompoms. First they match the number then count the pompoms (touch math) and say the number. We utilize numbers everyday as we count the kids, count the number of days of the month, 1:1 correspondence, count down from 5 when we are to transition from an activity, etc. Numbers are an important part of our day.
During this last week, the sophomore English class read the short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. They collaborated to identify various elements of imagery and figurative language in the text. They then used these ideas to aid them in creating illustrations of the story's scenes. Overall, students did a great job working together and making sure their knowledge of the text was evident.
Starting our basketball units in PE. 🏀 As winter boot season is upon us, PLEASE make sure students have tennis shoes for PE. I want them to be prepared to do their very best. 😁
