“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
When I was thinking about writing the update on Leadership
Day, I kept thinking of this quote by Dr. King. I kept thinking about how Leadership Day really allows all
of the students and staff at Cooper to be great. Leadership Day gives each child and each teacher at Cooper
the opportunity to fulfill their potential and lead with greatness.
I wanted to make sure that I had the quote right so I looked
it up and realized I had always missed the part, “because everybody can
serve.” While I understand that
Dr. King was specifically talking about serving community and God, I couldn’t
help but relate the idea of service to what we do every day. We serve children every day. In serving children, we serve our
community and our world. We make
passion our life’s work. In
understanding our passion, we understand our purpose; our WHY that Terry has
been talking about. When we allow
children to serve, we allow them an opportunity to develop their passions and
understand their purpose.
There were several students from Victoria and Wendy’s
classes that volunteered to read their personal essays and poems on
leadership. Many of these students
were not students you may know well.
Yet, you should. Their
essays and poems were inspiring and thought provoking. After Eric S read his essay on how
leaders influence others, a guest told me, “If I had closed my eyes, I would
have sworn that a grown man was speaking.
He was so professional and well spoken.” After Jasmine R read her poem, “Leadership, Leadership,” she
came over to Victoria and I and gasped, “Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to
die.” Yet, she didn’t and she
succeeded. How will taking a risk
and being successful at such a young age influence her as she grows? At Cooper, the opportunities we provide
students show them their voice matters.
Here are some comments from the guest surveys.
“There are already better leaders than some adults.”
“No matter what child I spoke to, they all had something to
say. You could feel the good vibes in the school.”
“Choir and band were awesome!”
“I love how the students own the habits-doing them at home
and teaching family members.”
“I covered more ground than expected because students stayed
on topic with an amazing comprehensive understanding of the 7 Habits.”
“I was most impressed with the question and answer
panel. The students were well
versed.”
Congrats everyone on another successful Leadership Day! A big thank you to everyone!
Eric reads his essay.
Students share their leadership notebooks.
Mayor Kirksey enjoyed his day!
Big Rocks:
Cooper has been transformed into a beautiful art
museum! The works of art hanging
in every hallway are a tribute to Lauren’s and the students’ hard work. Thank you to Lauren for all of her
effort and enthusiasm. Also, lots
of gratitude to everyone who helped Lauren maintain her sanity the last few
weeks! The 5th Grade
Art Show will be held Tuesday and the 6th Grade Art Show will be
held Thursday.
The PD Day is Wednesday, April 30. It will start at 8:00.
We do have to stamp you in and out again. The morning will start with a recap of Leadership Day and a
fun activity. We will then spend
the afternoon on School Improvement and have time to explore and take the
Smarter Balance practice tests for both Math and ELA. Breakfast will be provided by the Lighthouse Team.
May is National Sport and Fitness
Month. On Thursday, May 1st at 10:30, we will participate in "All
Children Exercising Simultaneously." We will use the same walking
course that we used for the fall "Walkathon." Please use your
respective exit doors to begin the walk. We will walk for 30 minutes. Please do
not leave your classrooms until after the ACES announcement. Students
must stay with their class during the walk. ACES
stickers, as well as an exit/walk pattern map, will be placed in your mailboxes
Tuesday evening. Teachers, please distribute the stickers to students on
Thursday before the walk.
The first Books and Breakfast was a
great success! We will meet again
on Friday to discuss the book Belly Up and introduce our next
title. There will be light snacks
served. I have a couple of
chapters left. I better get
reading!
The Spring Book Fair will be held this week. Judy will be setting up on Monday. The Book Fair will be open both nights
at the Art Fair. Judy will be
doing the Loose Change for Books again this year. All loose change is due Thursday, May 1st.
Our Schedule for the week
of April 28, 2014:
Monday: 5th Grade Variety Show rehearsal
Tuesday: IST 8:00
ASSET 9:30
5th Grade Art Show
Afterschool Clubs 3:45
Terry at the NHS Summit
Wednesday: PD Day 8:00-3:30 (lunch on your own from
11:00-12:30)
Sarah and Terry to SCHECHS meeting 4:00
Thursday: Staff Meeting 8:00
ACES 10:30
6th Grade Art
Fair
Lighthouse Meeting 3:45
Friday: Books and Breakfast 8:00
Kidney
Assemblies 8:50-9:30 and 9:45-10:30
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