Parents, don't forget: Parent Teacher Conferences are next week. We look forward to seeing you and discussing your student's growth. Have a great weekend!
At the beginning of September, the PTO kicked off a fundraiser called the Kindness Calendar. Last year’s Kindness Calendar was very successful and raised a lot of money to support both students and staff at Cooper Elementary. The Kindness Calendar wraps up this week, so Broncos, let's pull together, show some acts of kindness and get those acts sponsored by your friends, family, and neighbors!
Kindness Calendar Video: https://tinyurl.com/CooperkindnessCalendar
Meet Kelly Parks. Mrs. Parks interviewed when we were in the middle of our Arkansas School of Innovation (SOI) application. Our SOI team was deep in conversations about personalized learning, project based learning, and student centered teaching. The interview team was looking for the best teacher, but ideally, we would find someone who could help us with our SOI goals, too. In walked Kelly Parks.
It was quickly apparent that Mrs. Parks would be an incredible addition to Cooper Elementary. I knew Mrs. Parks as a Cooper parent, but I didn’t know her as a teacher. She is the real deal. She brings several years of teaching experience and innovative ideas to our third grade team and our entire staff. She has taught in a variety of settings and utilized a variety of curricula throughout her career including International Baccalaureate curriculum (which is all project based). Moreover, I still remember her portfolio, a creative multipage record of her teaching. It was a great showcase of Mrs. Parks as a teacher and person. She is an innovative teacher, and we are already starting to see her students express their learning in creative, innovative ways--just check out the pics of a recent literacy lesson that ended up including Legos, student-written poems, artwork, and more. We are super lucky to have her as a teacher, coworker, and Cooper parent. Please help me welcome Mrs. Kelly Parks to the Cooper family! --Josh
Our staff member of the month for September is Richard Lowe. Around here, we call him “Mr. Richard” or “King Richard.” He is a great example of what it means to be a Bronco. He is hardworking, kind, and patient. He takes pride in his work, and he works around the clock (literally) to make sure our school is clean and ready for learning. You might see him in the lunchroom, in the hallways, in a classroom, or around the school grounds. He is everywhere he is needed.
King Richard is a big part of our school family. He serves our staff and students well beyond his work role and duties. He is not just a colleague--he is a friend, and we hope he realizes how much our school depends on him and appreciates him. King Richard received several nominations for staff member of the month. It is well deserved, and we--as a staff--are grateful he is a part of our school.
Please help us celebrate King Richard this month and throughout the year at Cooper Elementary. If you happen to see King Richard, please thank him for his work--he deserves it.
Good afternoon, Cooper families! Are you interested in being involved on campus this year? If you are looking to make an impact on Cooper whether it be a Bronco Buddy, Classroom Helper, Homeroom Parent, Guardian in Action or an extra set of hands this is for you!
Volunteer Orientation will be held on Thursday, September 7th at 9 AM! We look forward to seeing you there. We can’t wait to partner with you this school year to help better our school and students!
Today’s Bronco Breakdown feature is our new outro. Our new outro centers on two things: Our 2023-2024 theme and our new mission statement.
Our theme is Cooper National Park: Together We Can Move Mountains.
Our mission is, “We are a family of innovators who create pathways to learn, connect, and inspire.” The “we” in this statement includes you, our parents. You are an important part of our school community. We will breakdown this mission more in the near future. In the meantime, click the link below to view this year's Bronco Breakdown outro.
https://tinyurl.com/BroncoOutro
Good afternoon, Cooper families! Today’s feature from this week’s Bronco Breakdown is “How to Use Your ID on the Bus: A Cooper Tutorial.” Click the link below to learn how your student uses his or her to enter and exit the bus. Bus service is a great option for our kids. Our buses only serve Cooper students and most of our routes are short. Moreover, parents are now able to track their student’s bus location using an easy-to-navigate app.
https://tinyurl.com/2raf9ur9
It was awesome to see our families at last night’s Open House. We want to give a special shoutout to our PTO for their work in transforming our building into Cooper National Park. Wendy Hughes and her team do a fantastic job supporting our students, staff, and parents. We hope you took a moment to enjoy their incredible decorations and to thank them for their hard work. Yesterday, the PTO also provided lunch for our staff and worked both open houses. We are incredibly fortunate to have a next level PTO. Thank you Cooper PTO!
This morning, our teachers kicked off the year with a classic Cooper Round Up, complete with a Pom Pom welcome (thanks Cooper PTO families), the Cooper Bronco, Big 3 Awards, celebrations (including Mrs. Dumes’s birthday), and a teacher game featuring our new teachers. In the afternoon, teachers led learning rotations. It was great to have everyone back. A big shoutout to Allen’s in Bella Vista for allowing us to use some shopping carts. The carts allowed teachers to have some fun while they picked up curriculum materials. Thank you for an awesome first day back, Broncos!
Good afternoon, Cooper families! We are excited to see you at next Thursday’s Open House. Kindergarten students will have Open House from 2:00-4:00, and students in grades 1-4 will have Open House from 4:00-6:30. If you are going to be out of town during Open House, don’t worry: Your student’s teacher will contact you before school starts.
In addition, last year, we created a Cooper Elementary Overview. This document was designed to provide one space for all necessary Cooper information. We have updated our overview for the 2023-2024 school year, and we will continue to update it throughout the year as we identify missing pieces of information, updates, etc. We want to make navigating our school as easy as possible, and we hope this resource helps your family as you start a new school year with us. The 2023-2024 Cooper Elementary Overview is available at https://tinyurl.com/cooperoverview .
Today, we would like to highlight the Bus Transportation section of the Cooper Elementary Overview. We are very lucky to have buses assigned to Cooper students only. Our students do not ride the bus with older students or students from other schools. Moreover, last year, Bentonville Schools started using Transportant, a program that significantly upgraded bus technology. Now, parents can track their student’s bus location and receive a notification for each pick-up and drop-off. Adding a bus transportation plan is a simple process, and once you have a bus transportation plan, it is easy to set and manage notifications. Check out the transportation section to learn more about bus service for your student.
Have a great evening, Broncos!
Broncos, we hope your summer has been amazing and full of fun. We hope your upcoming school year is also amazing and full of fun. We’ll kick off the 2023-2024 school year with Open House on Thursday, August 10. Kindergarten students will have Open House from 2:00-4:00, and students in grades 1-4 will have Open House from 4:00-6:30.
It’s going to be a great year, and we look forward to seeing all of our students and families on the 10th. Have a great weekend, Broncos!
Good afternoon, Cooper families! I want to thank you for a great year. I’m beyond thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Cooper Elementary. I have enjoyed getting to know each of you and your students. It’s been an awesome fit from day one, and I look forward to working with you and your family next year.
Moreover, this morning, we started the week like we always do: With an episode of the Bronco Breakdown. This week’s episode featured a year in review. You may view it via the link below.
It’s been a pleasure, and I’m excited about the future of Cooper. Have a great summer! --Josh
https://tinyurl.com/cooperyearinreview
Earlier this semester, two students from Bentonville Schools, a Cooper kid, Gunner, and an Old High kid, Trinity, visited the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team. Why? They have alopecia and Razorback Star and future NBA player Jordan Walsh wanted to help them by sharing his experiences with alopecia. Jordan and the Razorback staff went above and beyond to spend time with our students and to make an impact. This week, these students discussed their experiences with alopecia with ALL 4th grade students. They explained the condition to better educate their peers. The presentation was amazing and so beneficial for all.
We are so proud of Gunner and Trinity for sharing their story, and we are thankful for Jordan, who shared his story. Together, we are stronger.
It gets better: After their presentation, Gunner was awarded several 4th grade honors:
-He was recognized for highest growth in his class in literacy.
-He was awarded for highest growth in his class in math.
-He was awarded high academic achievement in literacy.
-He was awarded high academic achievement in math.
-He was presented the PE outstanding student award for 4th grade.
These two students have grown so much this year, and their growth was evident on stage this week. A big shoutout to their families, teachers, peers, and Jordan Walsh. A little bit of kindness goes a long way, and this week, it extended from the court to our school.
Cooper kicked off commencement weekend with some awesome seniors. Nearly 50 Class of 2023 grads showed up today for our first annual Cooper Elementary Senior Walk. Several former Cooper staff members also attended to cheer on and catch-up with their former students.
Current Broncos will complete the walk in years ahead, too. 4th grade will return to walk in 2031, 3rd grade in 2032, 2nd grade in 2033, 1st grade in 2034, and kindergarten in 2035. It was a great start to a new tradition. Once a Bronco always a Bronco.
This week, future Broncos signed their letter of intent to join the kindergarten team. Welcome to Cooper, Class of 2036!
Fun Field Day was filled with fun and inflatable slides and ice cream and a fire truck and games and hundreds of awesome Broncos!
https://tinyurl.com/funfieldfiretruck
Tonight, we met so many awesome future Broncos at our Cooper Kindergarten Round Up Night. We kicked off the event with some words of wisdom about kindergarten from… our current kindergarten students. Who better to talk about our school and the kindergarten experience than our current kindergarten students?
https://tinyurl.com/CESKevent
Once a Bronco Always a Bronco. We want to thank these wonderful ladies for their contributions and support to our Cooper kids. Deronda Smith, Brenda Hofer, Laura Whited, and Dena Mayes are familiar faces to past and present Broncos. Each has impacted our students for years and is irreplaceable. We hope to see them (and we know we will) continue to be a part of our school community. Deronda, Laura, and Dena, thank you for your work in our classrooms. Your teaching and support has impacted hundreds of students and staff members. Brenda, thank you for your work on the school bus, ensuring our students are met each morning and afternoon with a smile. You all will be missed. Happy retirement!
Last week, we hosted representatives from the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Office of Innovation. The visit consisted of a two hour presentation, time for the representatives to review our updated application, and time for feedback. We decided to have our students run a majority of the visit, and they crushed it. As a result, our application was approved! It will now go to the Department of Education Secretary for final approval.
Our new application outlines three goals and plans for the future. We want School of Innovation to be a part of who we are as a school and visible throughout our school. To learn more about our goals and plans for the future, watch our School of Innovation video via the link below. This Bronco Breakdown segment features our council and the awesome students who led last week’s visit. We are excited about the future of our school. Have a great evening!--Josh
https://tinyurl.com/SOIcooper
Friday’s STREAM Night was awesome. I want to thank Shannon Tweedy for her work in coordinating the event. There were so many memorable activities for kids and parents to enjoy. I also want to thank all of the event volunteers, sponsors, and participants. Mrs. Tweedy hit it out of the park! Click the link below to view a quick recap of STREAM from this morning’s Bronco Breakdown. Have a great evening, Broncos!--Josh
https://tinyurl.com/STREAMnight23