We Appreciate You!

Wow! What an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week!  We have such an incredible PTA and they pulled out all the stops to honor all of you.  You deserve to be honored.  This is a tough job and many would say it's not a job; it's a calling.  We are builders. We build relationships, friendships, and community. We inspire children to be better students, better sons and daughters, better people.  We are gamechangers.  We change lifes everyday!

I cringe every time someone says that they wouldn't want their own child to join the teaching profession.  I know we have been beaten down.  We have to defend our profession in a way we never had to before.  We have growing class sizes, growing diversity of student needs, increasing standardized tests and accountability, and social media that is changing school culture.  Yet, if I had to do it all again, I would still become a teacher.  It's been a fulfilling career so far and I can't imagine standing at the end of my career and saying I would have done something different.  I wouldn't ever deny my children the opportunity to have a job that makes a difference everyday.  To be that one person who changed a child's life.  To be the one who taught a child to love reading.  To be the one that provided a safe sanctuary in a child's unstable world.

The other day I had one of our infamous 6th grade hoody wearing students in my office.  He had been kicked out of class by the sub again.  We were talking about his behavior and his Emerson transition. He suddenly asked, "Mrs. Aherne, how many days are left of school?"  I said, "I don't know.  Let's count."  After several seconds, I responded, "23 and a ½ days.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"  He responded, "Bad."  "Bad? Why bad?"  I asked.  He looked up at me and said, "Bad because I was actually starting to like this school."

See?!? My heart was singing!  "The children who need love the most ask for it in the most unforgiving ways."  We've all heard that and it's so true.  There are some students who we are not going to see traditional success in grades or behavior in two years at our school. Yet, I firmly believe that showing love and kindness will always be remembered and does make a difference.  What if for that one student that belief that we instill in them that they are worth it, they are important, they are leaders carries them through bad years, difficult home situations, and worse.  I wouldn't change those moments for anything.

Here's to all of you!  For making passion your life's work.  For changing the world.  For making a difference in the lives of students everyday.

I've shown this before but it is my favorite.  This sums up everything I believe to be true.

And another great video just for fun.

Big Rocks:
Variety Show is this week!  A big thank you to Bill Lietz for all of his hard work and dedication.  We've been blessed to have not one but TWO Variety Shows this year.  The students are so excited to show off their acts.  See the calendar below for times

M-Step begins this week for 6th grade.  Please see Terry to get your tickets.  You will have help available in all labs.  No cell phones are allowed by students in the labs.  Please collect all tickets and scrap paper when finished because it must be shredded.

Teachers please make sure you are walking your class all the way to the buses and then taking out your bus card.  We are having lots of issues with not having all of the students down to the buses or cards being pulled and then having stragglers.  It is making the bus duty jobs and our bus drivers jobs more difficult.

There has already been some questions about signing out on the last day of school.  Terry and I will put up a sign up sheet closer to June 12.  Teachers can sign up to check out on Thursday, June 11 but must still come in on Friday, June 12.  Last year, teachers were allowed to go on Thursday if they were ready and had beeen checked out.  That was a special accomodation that was made to Phase 1 Bond schools.  Since teachers came in on Saturdays and stayed many nights, they were granted special permission to leave Thursday.  If you have any questions, please see an administrator.

Calendar for the Week of May 11, 2015:
Monday: Variety Show 9:00-10:30 5th grade, 1:45-3:00 6th grade
                M-Step Begins
Tuesday: 4th Grade Transition Visits from Grant and Hayes AM
                Variety Show 6-9 PM
Wednesday: QAR meeting at CO 9:30-11:00 (Sarah)
                   Planning/Lighthouse Meeting 3:45-5:00
                  District School Improvement Team meeting (Sarah) 5:15-6:15
Thursday: Staff meeting 8:00
                 School Improvement meeting 9:00-1:00 (Sarah and Robin)
Friday:  Last Young Adult Book Club 8:00 Paperboy
              4th Grade Transition Visits from Roosevelt and Cleveland AM
             Principal's Meeting at CO 1:00-4:30 (Sarah and Terry)

Last-TIme-Lasts

“The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.”  ― Friedrich Nietzsche

We are running out of time. Lao Tzu calls time a “created thing.” That created thing is escaping our grasp at a rapid pace. There are only weeks to go in the school year. Weeks to complete the M-Step testing, finish the school improvement plan, do all the end of the year items such as Field Day (with its preparations), scheduling students into 2015/16 classes, end-of-year field trips, etc. The list feels endless. Ah, there’s time in that endlessness.

And for me, this ending is so bittersweet.

So many lasts that are last-time-lasts. It’s hard not to have it in the back of my head that the fall will come and I will not be the person greeting students and staff, planning the first day agenda for our PD day, or thinking about and planning 6^th grade camp (how will we get all that luggage out there?). It’s been my life for a long time. It’s been my principle role.

I am feeling a lot of guilt about leaving Cooper. At the same time, I want to celebrate all of these last-time-lasts. I won’t get to do this again. I want to enjoy the lasts in the same way we do every year with the last things we do. And I want to celebrate the last-time-lasts for me. The guilt about leaving fights with the joy at all we’ve accomplished and that this has been a job well done. I’m trying to find the balance in these last weeks. Balance the joy of the end of something wonderful with the sadness that it has to end. I want to end this book well. No regrets. Nothing left to chance in these last weeks.

In our profession, we are finished at the end of each school year. And we are never really finished. For me, the job is ending. My role as a leader at Cooper is ending.

Time to make this story's happy ending.

“The opposite of the happy ending is not actually the sad ending--the sad ending is sometimes the happy ending. The opposite of the happy ending is actually the unsatisfying ending.”  ― Orson Scott Card

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Big Rocks

• Testing window changes allow us to schedule 6th grade M-Step beginning May 11. Please email Terry if there are days or times in that week you cannot test. We will get schedules out by Wednesday so we need that information right away. The test window continues to June 5
• ACES is Wednesday. You will get a map and directions. We will have parents stationed around the building to assist with students following the route.

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Our schedule for this week

Monday:          Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Tuesday:          PD all day at Cooper!

Wednesday:    ACES!

                           8:00 IST in the Conference Room

Thursday:         No staff meeting!

                            10:00 DAC at CO (Terry)

Friday:               8:00 Title I Meeting at CO (Sarah, Terry, Robin)

On Display at Cooper

Albert Einstein once said "Imagination is more important than knowledge."  This week we were highlighting creativity, imagination, literature, global thinking, and empathy at Cooper.  (Well, in the evenings at least!  Let's forget about M-Step for a minute!)  It was one of the busiest weeks we've had for a while but we got through it!

A big thank you to Bill Lietz and Lynn deCarli for providing our parents with information regarding Human Growth.  It's an anxiety producing subject for many families.  Lynn and Bill are so professional and are often a calming influence on our parents.  I feel like Kid President would say, "It's just science people!"  Some new staff still need training on the curriculum.  We are working with Sheryl Archibald to try to make that happen.

Youth Making a Difference turned out to be a wonderful event.  We were worried that kids weren't going to pull through but boy did they ever.  It was really amazing to see the hard work that our Cooper leaders did to make a difference in their communities.  We had two tables full of posters representing Cooper! Thank you to Bill who was my partner in crime for this event! The posters are currently on display outside of the lunchroom.  Please join us in congratulating the Cooper students and classes that participated!

Once again, Lauren pulled off a spectacular Art Show!  We seriously have the best art teacher in town!  We are always amazed at how intentional Lauren is with her planning; carefully matching her show to Cooper's theme of Leadership Around the World.  We had a terrific turnout both nights.  Parents were very complementary.

These events also demonstrate how truly wonderful and invested many of our parents are in Cooper.  The Book Fair went off without a hitch on Wednesday even though Judy had a personal commitment.  Cooper parents and library volunteers stepped up to the plate and ran the Book Fair with no problems.  Our wonderful PTA pulled off another successful Ice Cream Social.  Culvers donated all the ice cream for the event so if you pass it on Middlebelt be sure to support them!  Many staff attended the events this week.  Thank you!  Please know how much we appreciate your support and Cooper parents and students really love to see you at these events.

"Creativity is intelligence having fun."  Einstein


Big Rocks

• M-Step comes to a close for 5th grade this week.  Hooray!  We currently have over 50 make-ups so we will be trying to make that happen.  In lots of ways, the testing has been smoother than expected.  Hopefully, we will be more prepared for 6th grade after working through some kinks during the 5th grade testing.
• Tim Backiel's dad is very sick.  Tim has taken FLMA leave to be with his dad and mom at this time.  He hopes to return before the end of the school year.  Linda Nasset is here currently covering his class but we are unsure who will be his sub long-term.  We will keep you updated.

Calendar for the Week of April 27:

Monday 4/27: 

Tuesday 4/28: 4:30 Susie Schnettler Memorial Meeting

                        6:30 PTA Meeting to pick the new board

Wednesday 4/29: Susie Schnettler's birthday  Moment of Silence during announcements

                              3:45 Planning/Lighthouse team

Thursday 4/30: 8:00 Staff Meeting with Dr. Liepa

Friday 5/1: It's MAY!!!  Terry and Sarah's Evaluations due to Andrea.  

                   Reminder that Teacher Evaluations are due June 1 to HR.  We will be finding times to
                   meet with all of you in the coming weeks.

We can't spell cooperation without Cooper!

“If everyone helps to hold up the sky, then one person does not become tired.” 
― Askhari Johnson Hodari, Lifelines: The Black Book of Proverbs

The sky I was worried about falling was held up by an incredible group of Cooper staff members last week. The M-Step testing began and the problems with it began and the fifth grade teachers stepped up to the task. I've never been more impressed or more proud of our staff. As the fifth grade teachers answered the call and made sure students were logged in, testing, and surviving the experience, RCRs and paras came to the rescue to help in every lab. Add Robin and Kathy N. to the mix, and Sarah and I could relax knowing the students were well taken care of.

Our teachers and paras are really a wonderful group. No one knew what to expect. Quite frankly, we were all expecting horrible things to happen. And sometimes problems came fast and heavy. But the fifth grade teachers, with the assistance of those mentioned above, came through. Students were made safe, computers were rebooted, crazy messages were recorded and deciphered, and all was good the first week of testing.

There's more.

The secretaries came through with cutting of tickets and organizing the envelopes. They see my stress and pitch in to help, even with all they have to do just to keep the lid on the office. Kathy Baldwin, our fabulous test coordinator, was there with all the phone calls and emails we had to send. Her constant message was for us to take care of the kids. And, last but certainly not least, Sarah was there: running from lab to lab, easing student concerns, calling parents, helping teachers, and making sure we stayed focused.

We are so fortunate to have this incredible staff, to have had the kind of cooperation we needed just when complaints and worry and constant concern for the uselessness of the testing could have prevailed. We did a great job of taking care of the most important things. We are taking care of the students. We are making sure they get what they need.

I thought maybe Leadership Day showed the best of Cooper. Last week, with the testing snafus and computer issues and scheduling nightmares, I think we may have seen the best of Cooper yet again!

“As the leader of a group, your success is going to depend, not only upon yourself, but on the cooperation of every person, working with you. If they do not cooperate, you will not accomplish anything, no matter how brilliant you may prove to be.” 
― J. Vernon Jacobs

Calendar for the Week of April 13:

Monday:         M-Step continues with math and social studies for 5th grade

                       7:30 Breakfast with Randy (Terry)

                       8:30 DSIT (Sarah)

                       4:30 Susie Memorial Meeting

                       6:30 Human Growth Parent Meeting (Cafe)

       

Tuesday:        8:00 Center EPT

                       4:30 Susie Memorial Meeting

                       6:00 Youth Making A Difference

Wednesday:    Earth Day

                        8:00 IST
                        9:30 QAR meeting (Sarah)

                        1:15 Instructional Rounds meeting (Sarah)

                        6:00 5th Grade Art Show and Ice Cream Social

Thursday:        Technology BYOD meetings at lunch (BYO cell phone)

                        3:45 Extended Staff Meeting

                        6:00 6th Grade Art Show and Ice Cream Social

Friday:             6:00 Skate Night

Leadership Day: Learning and Leading

Last week, we celebrated a very successful Leadership Day.  Our students and staff were amazing and the guests made sure they let us know.  Most of it was the same things we have heard before: "your students are so confident," "they look people in the eye and speak respectfully to adults," "No suggestions; loved every minute."

One of our fifth grade students excitedly approached Judy to tell her about how he had overheard two councilman discussing how they were impressed with the students and heard them exclaim that Cooper was the "best school he'd ever seen."  He then noticed Terry and I and asked Judy if she thought we'd want to hear before running over to tell us the same thing.  It's this passion and excitement we are striving to instill in our students everyday.

Sometimes teachers tell us that they think Leadership Day is just a show and that people should be able to come in any day and see leadership everywhere.  I don't disagree but I also think there is another way of looking at it.  

In writing this update,  I couldn't help but equate Leadership Day to holding an Open House.  As much as I'd like to say that I spent the whole break Sharpening the Saw, I really was burning myself out.  I spent almost every day painting, purging, donating, cleaning, etc in order to put our house on the market.  My house looked "perfect" for the pictures and Open House.  Counters were cleaned off, toys were put away, closets were cleaned out, doors were repainted, etc.  We were putting on a "show."  We were highlighting our house's best qualities, to help it shine, to help others see how they could make it work for them, to show it's true potential.  That doesn't mean that we weren't living our mission statement.  That doesn't mean that we were fake.  

You can feel it when you walk into Cooper.  That feeling.  That energy.  That positive school culture and climate.  You can feel that any day at Cooper.  It's just highlighted differently on Leadership Day.  

You can feel it when you walk into my home.  My home is not a house.  It's a home and there is a difference.  You can feel the love.  You can feel the positive energy.  It's just highlighted differently during an Open House.

Every one of you should be proud of what you do everyday at Cooper.  It's not always evident but believe us when we say. 

The students are listening.

They are learning.

They are leading.

Big Rocks: 

M-STEP is here for 5th grade.  Terry has sent out the schedule.  He had to come in over break to print the test tickets since the window opened on April 3.  All test tickets are printed and ready to go for the first day.  We have the administrative manuals and will be there with you.  Please remember that you have to complete your classroom activity before the second test day that you have scheduled (the performance task).  We'll have to go with the flow and try our best.  Let's stay positive.  

Teacher Perception Survey: We were originally told that the Teacher Perception Survey for teachers to take on their administrators would be out this week.  We haven't received anything yet but you may receive the survey sometime this week.  Look out for an email from us.

A big thank you to everyone who helped with Leadership Day and especially to Nicole for all of her hard work organizing the day.  Also a big round of applause to Karen Danke and her side kicks Sue Gonyu and Colleen Sweeney for another amazing musical.  Willy Wonka blew everyone away!

The Art Show is coming!  Lauren, please let us know how we can help!  Many people were impressed with the art work and leadership/7habit art on Leadership Day.  Cooper Art Show 2015 is sure to be a huge success!

And a little thing to make you smile...

                                                     My 3 year old's fortune cookie...              

                                                                   
                                                                 Miss. M in action!

Calendar for the Week of April 13:

Monday: M-Step begins 

Tuesday: 5th grade rehearsal Variety Show 4-6

Wednesday: Human Growth Meeting ?
                    6th Grade rehearsal Variety Show 4-6

Thursday: Principals' Meeting: 1-4

                 PTO 6:30
                 Menchies fundraiser

Friday: Book Club 8:00

Busy week? But it's only four days!

Where does the time go? We'll know at the end of this week when all the things we're working on will get done.

We have Leadership Day. We have Willy Wonka. We have lots of meetings and other activities, especially preparation for the M-Step. I could think of other names for the test, but I'm too tired and too busy to be glib. The test begins on the 13th with 5th grade. I will get everything ready and we'll see the grand experiment take place the Monday we return from Spring Break.

The best thing about working at Cooper is the staff, hands down. Our ability to rise to challenges has always been a hallmark here. We will get through this week and the other challenges facing us in April and May. June will arrive. We will survive.

"Fasten your seatbelt. It's going to be a bumpy night." ~Margo Channing, in All About Eve

Big Rocks
It's Leadership Day Week! So many staff members have been working hard to organize and prepare for the the event that we should be successful in LD-IV. Thanks especially goes to Nicole for taking on the leadership to organize the event. Lauren also deserves our thanks for all she's doing to get the building ready. There are so many others to thank... We should be proud of our students and our school.

Karen, Sue G., and Colleen S. have the cast ready for Willy Wonka this week. Performances will occur with the main performance Tuesday evening. Watching the practices over the weeks, I've seen incredible improvement. The cast is wonderful. It will be a great show!

A video recording crew from RESA will be in the building to record Sally and her work with teachers as a Literacy Lab. They will be using the conference room and the Cafe.

Week of March 30, 2015:

Monday:       8:00 Spybrook meeting (Title I), CO, Robin
                     3:00 ALT meeting at CO (Sarah and Terry)
                     3:45 Leadership Day prep

Tuesday:       9:00 Leadership Day Practice (Parent audience arrives at 8:30)
                     Terry DDS 2:30 (back right after!)
                     3:45 Lighthouse Team
                     6:30 Willy Wonka production
             
Wednesday:   8:00 IST
                      9:15 Fire Drill (Last of the year!!!)
                      Leadership Day prep

Thursday:      Leadership Day (guests arrive starting at 8:30)
                   

Friday:           Spring Breaks begins! Happy break!

Making and Breaking Habits

There's a popular theory that if you do something for 21 days you'll form a habit.  This theory is based on the work of Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon from the 1950s.  After observing that many of his patients took roughly 21 days to get used to the results of their operation, he published a book that stated his observation.  His quote started a whole self help movement based on the 21 day theory.

Why do I know this?  I just finished the 21 Day Fix, a work out program where I worked out every day for 21 days.  I feel physically better but also mentally satisfied that I was able to meet my goal.  So I was really hoping that there was some scientific evidence that supported the 21 day theory! Unfortunately, the research I found stated the 21 day idea is a myth.

The formation of a habit has more to do with the person, the behavior, and the circumstances.  Making or breaking of habits can take longer but that's ok.  The research actually reflects what we've seen at Cooper.  The formation of habits is a process not an event.  It is okay to slip up, give yourself permission to make mistakes, and use the strategies you've learned through living the 7 Habits to get back on track.

As I was reflecting on the idea of the 21 day myth and habit formation, I opened the newspaper this weekend to an article in the Parade magazine entitled Breaking Bad Habits.  Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, is now studying habits.  She believes that when thinking about forming a new habit we need to think, "What's everything I could do to set myself up for success?"  She believes that everyone falls into roughly four personality categories: upholder, obliger, questioner, and rebel.  Rubin states that changing habits is possible if we think about how we respond to expectations.  She claims that personality+pairing=success.

Good habits require consistent commitment but no habit is going to be made or broken unless you get started.  What's a new habit you would like to commit to?

• Greeting students every morning
• Revisiting Data Notebooks more often
• Community Meetings
• Walking at lunch
• Eating breakfast
• Writing in a journal

Whether it takes 21 days or 100 days, the only thing to do is to get started.  If you want to find out more about your personality type, visit parade.com/habits.  For anyone that is interested, I think I'm a pretty classic upholder with a slight swing to the obliger side from time to time.  :)

Week of March 23, 2015:

Monday: 9:00 Student Interview (Terry)

Tuesday: 1:15 Fire Drill
                3:45 Lighthouse

Wednesday: 8:00-3:30 Apple Leadership for Learning (Sarah)
                     3:45 Planning Team
                     6:00 Battle of the Books @FHS

Thursday: 8:00 Staff Meeting
                 8:30-11:30 School Improvement Diagnostics (Sarah, Terry, Robin) @Johnson
                 4:00 Champs Enthusiasm Event

Friday: Elementary Work Day!