This week, BHS and BWHS students from Ignite visited our school to share their learning and to support the learning of our students. We are always excited to expose Cooper kids to the incredible opportunities available to them throughout their experience in Bentonville Schools. The first Ignite visit was yesterday and included three awesome young men from Ignite’s Aviation and Air Mobility strand. The students were at Cooper to capture exterior drone footage for the Bentonville Schools Facilities team. Kindergarten students from our ESTEAM course enjoyed seeing their high school peers fly their drones. These students complete their Ignite coursework at Thaden Field and even work in flight simulators--all while earning high school credit. That’s pretty awesome.
The second visit was today and included four creative men and women from Ignite’s Visual Design strand. Their focus is on videography, so they helped students in Mrs. Neal’s 1st grade class and Mrs. Clark’s 2nd grade class capture videos for their animal research projects. It was a great experience for all students involved and was a collaboration between students in grades 1, 2, 11, and 12. That, too, is pretty awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished products. Have a great evening, Broncos! --Josh
Every year, each school in Bentonville Schools nominates a teacher of the year, and that teacher has the chance to be the Bentonville Schools Teacher of the Year. We are so fortunate to have great people at this school, and each of our teachers is well deserving of this honor.
When we select our teacher of the year, there are two steps we take:
Teachers are nominated by our entire staff.
We take those nominated teachers and we all vote for the teacher of the year. It is so tough to nominate just one teacher, and it is even harder to vote for just one.
This year's teacher of the year earned the most votes, and she also had the most nominations.
In short, she is awesome. This year's Cooper Teacher of the year is Megan Neal.
I want to take a moment to share the words of those who nominated her.
"Megan's class is a testament to her teaching. There is a positive classroom community happening in her room. Students work together and support one another. These first grade students accept the differences and struggles within their group and help each other freely. Megan gets the best out of her students by expecting and encouraging these young learners to give their best. Her consistent, calm teaching style is commendable. Cooper is fortunate to have her."
"She is excellent at meeting all needs of her students while also teaching grade level content."
"Megan is always looking for the best in each of her students. She celebrates their differences and expects greatness. She is very positive, and still searches for a way to improve things and herself. "
"She's a new teacher (formerly the special education lead) and yet has embraced all that is needed to move our students to where they need to be. She understands the Science of Reading and the importance of reading groups. She shows patience, kindness, and an understanding of all her students' needs."
"Megan is consistently reaching for ways to better reach her kids. Her drive for meeting their needs is driven by what they need and how to creatively meet them there. They are lucky to have her!!!"
In closing, this honor is well deserved. Mrs. Neal is the type of teacher who makes everyone around her better. She makes each of her students better, her PLC teammates better, and I've learned through our discussions in the School of Innovation committee that she makes her building administrators better, too.
I want to thank Mrs. Neal for everything she does to make our school a better place for students and student learning. She has a "do whatever it takes to help students" mindset and it shows. Please help me congratulate our 2022-2023 Cooper Elementary Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Megan Neal. Click the link below to view the moment she learned about this recognition. Have a great evening, Broncos!--Josh
https://tinyurl.com/CESteacheroyear
This Friday is Career Day! Our Broncos will be learning about various careers from our amazing volunteers who have signed up to share their passion with the next generation! This will be an exciting time for our students to hear and learn from people who are in law enforcement, tech, food safety and so much more. Students may dress in their future careers if they would like to!
Students in Mrs. Clark’s second grade class and Mrs. Neal’s first grade class are collaborating across grade levels on an awesome project. The idea of this collaborative project came from each teacher’s desire to strengthen student engagement in the classroom while simultaneously addressing each grade level’s academic standards and needs. Through this project, students will learn about collaboration with others, how to research and present data, and how to improve their informational writing skills. Students will work together to research an animal of their choice, record their research in all star writing, build a 3D model of their animal, and create a persuasive video about their animal. We are excited to see their work!
Don’t forget to join us tomorrow at Bentonville High School for the Bentonville Schools Career Fair. This event is for a variety of future professionals in our district including teachers, nurses, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, facilities team members, and more. Drop by with a resume and crush an interview (yep, rooms are available for interviews). And… make sure to stop by the Cooper table to say, “hello,” to Mrs. Manus and Mr. Vest!
We are hosting a career day and would love to have a variety of careers that require a variety of educational backgrounds (traditional college, trade schools, or no higher education required). If you or someone you know would be great at interacting with elementary students while sharing their career, please send them Mrs. Dumes’s way!
Meet Harper and her first grade teacher, Mrs. Neal. Harper wanted to get Mrs. Neal an extra special gift for Christmas, so she asked her grandma to create a dress for Mrs. Neal to wear.
This is that dress, and it is perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Mrs. Neal had Harper sign it (Harper is holding up the part she signed), and Mrs. Neal wore it last week for our Valentine’s Day Round Up, and she wore it again today.
This is their story, and it is a perfect story for Valentine’s Day, a day both of them will remember for a long time.
Tomorrow starts Random Acts of Kindness week! We are kicking off the week wearing Bronco Gear to show that Broncos are up for the kindness challenge. We can’t wait to to see the random acts of kindness that will be on display in our halls!
The theme for National School Counseling Week is Helping Students Dream Big. We as school counselors aim to assist students in truly believing the sky is the limit. We do this daily by encouraging them to grow in all that they do, to have self control, and by giving them tools to use when things get hard. Here are a few ways you can help your child dream big beyond the building.
Happy Terrific Thursday! To ensure the WHOLE child is taken care of we offer many programs to meet the various needs of our students. If there is anything your child or family may need, please let us know so we can best serve your family and their needs.
Happy Wednesday! Never hesitate to contact us regarding any issues or concerns that you may have with your child. We are always willing to team up with teachers and parents to ensure that each student at Cooper Elementary is loved and well taken care of. Through classroom guidance lessons, group sessions, and individual sessions we aim to meet the needs of each and every Bronco! If there is ever a time you need to reach us, feel free to email us at cescounselor@bentonvillek12.org or call the front office!
This week kicks off National School Counseling Week! This year’s theme is “Helping Students Dream Big”! Mrs. Dumes and Mrs. Mayo will be taking over our social media this week to share things about our dynamic school counseling program. Stay tuned all week long to discover ways our dynamic duo assist students and our school daily!
Hey, Broncos! Take a quick break from AMI and enjoy a laugh with Mrs. Manus and one of our incredible students, Juliette. This is the Morning Corny from last week’s Bronco Breakdown. Enjoy!--Josh
https://tinyurl.com/morningcorn
Monday’s Bronco Breakdown featured the first Morning Corny segment of the school year. For Morning Corny, Mrs. Manus collects jokes from students who want to be featured in the weekly segment. This week’s Morning Corny features Josephine, and an awesome joke she submitted. Thank you for helping us start our week with a laugh, Josephine!
https://tinyurl.com/Jan9MorningCorny
Last week we had our first Round Up of 2023, and I cannot think of a better way to start the new year than by celebrating our students and school together in Round Up.
We recognized our Big Three award recipients in all grade levels, danced, and watched our teachers compete in a game on stage. I want to thank Mrs. Mayhew and the Round Up Crew for their work in planning and organizing this monthly event. It is great for our entire school. The Round Up Recap from this week’s Bronco Breakdown is linked below.
This week’s focus has been on MAP testing. As I mentioned last week, MAP is fantastic because it looks for growth--not just achievement. So far, we have MAP results for 3rd and 4th grade reading, and the growth is awesome. We are really proud of those teams and their students for their work in the classroom. We’ll share more highlights in the near future as MAP continues.
Have a great week, Broncos! -Josh
Round Up Recap: https://tinyurl.com/Jan6roundup
Today was the Cooper Sing Along. It was packed full of holiday cheer. The event featured a performance by the Sophisticated Ladies, a group of local retirees who tap danced to Christmas classics. Then, all the staff and students belted out holiday songs. It was awesome, and… it gets better… Mrs. Manus and I were able to enjoy the event from a unique perspective: Duct taped to the wall. It was a fantastic morning. We continued the celebration by having a staff lunch, courtesy of our two Cooper elves, Rudy and Jingle.
I want to thank Mrs. Mayhew for organizing today’s Sing Along and the Penny Wars fundraiser. Our fourth grade students enjoyed winning and taping their administrators to the wall. It was a great experience for all of us. --Josh
Today, we finished the Cooper Spelling Bee for 3rd and 4th grade students. A total of 20 students competed today (winners of their class spelling bee), and our top two spellers were Rayleigh Hudson and Nadia Stipp. Rayleigh, Nadia, and their fellow spellers took the stage, and spelled their way through the Scripps National Spelling Bee process. I want to thank all of the students who participated last week and today. Rayleigh and Nadia will represent Cooper Elementary at a regional competition in 2023. We’ll recognize all spellers in an upcoming Bronco Breakdown.
Moreover, tomorrow morning is our Cooper Sing Along, an event where students and staff get together and sing holiday songs. It is also the culmination of the Round Up Crew fundraiser, Penny Wars. When Penny Wars kicked off, the goal was to raise $500. If students raised $500, the grade level with the most points would get to duct tape Mrs. Manus or me to the wall. Well, students raised over $1000, so Mrs. Manus and I will be singing while stuck to the wall. The winning grade was 4th--they will make sure we “stick” around for the sing along. A rundown of the Penny Wars from this morning’s Bronco Breakdown is below.
We will send and post pictures from tomorrow’s sing along. Have a great evening, Broncos! -Josh
https://tinyurl.com/CESpennywars
Last week, the Bella Vista Police Department partnered with our counselors, Mrs. Dumes and Mrs. Mayo, for Shop with a Cop. Shop with a Cop is a program that helps students and families during the holidays. The Bella Vista Police Department helped 12 Cooper students shop for gifts this year.
During Shop with a Cop, students shop with an officer and purchase gifts for themselves and their families. This year, the police department made it an even bigger experience for these kids. They picked them up at school and gave the students’ bus a full police escort to Wal-Mart. Students had flashing cars and motorcycles leading the way and following them from behind. On top of that, the police department treated each student to pizza. It was a great experience for these kids, and the 25th will be a special day for them as they open their presents and share the gifts they purchased for their loved ones.
Another shoutout to the Bella Vista Police Department for their work with our students. They continually step up to help students in our community! --Josh
Good afternoon, Cooper families! Today was a great way to end the week. Our second grade students performed their holiday musical, and they had a huge crowd. I want to thank our parents for their attendance and their patience. We had to delay the performance from its 7:45 start time to ensure all who lined up were able to attend to support their student, capture some moments on video for their family, and enjoy the production. A big shoutout goes to our office team (Trish, Tiffany, and Courtney) for quickly scanning visitor IDs and distributing visitor badges.
As usual, the students and our incredible music teacher, Mrs. Cowart, hit it out of the park. Following the packed event in the cafeteria, students traveled to Bella Vista retirement homes to share their music with the elderly. It was a great experience for our students, our parents, our staff, and the entire community. Thank you, Mrs. Cowart, for creating these memorable learning experiences for our students! --Josh
https://tinyurl.com/ces2ndxmas
Good afternoon, Cooper families! Last Friday was our December Round Up. After a spectacular “Star Spangled Banner” from Mrs. Henry’s class, we recognized each grade level’s Big 3 award recipients, announced Mrs. Bentley as the staff member of the month, enjoyed kindergarten students singing “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth,” and watched a few of our teachers participate in a Santa themed game. It was a great time! A big shoutout goes out to Mrs. Mayhew and the Round Up Crew for leading yet another fantastic event. Click the link below to view some highlights of last week’s Round Up. Have a great evening!-Josh
https://tinyurl.com/DECroundup