The Scoop

Thank you to all our 5th grade families for making sure your students came to school well-rested and ready for the MSTEP test this week! We truly appreciate the support at home—whether it was getting a good night's sleep, eating a solid breakfast, or just offering some extra encouragement. Your efforts made a big difference, and our students came in focused and prepared. Great job, everyone! 5th Grade Make-up testing will take place next week. Sixth Graders will have a chance to show off their skills on Tuesday as they will beginning their testing! Let's Gooooo!

I also want to mention how proud I am of the way our community has been handling the recent news of a missing 17 year old girl. Thank you to all that have reached out to ensure that were well informed as it pertained to the potential of having strangers on our property. Today, there was an organized effort by the family of the missing girl in our area. With the help of Livonia Public Schools resources, everything was handled calmly and safely, and only a few individuals needed to be redirected from school property. We want to reassure you—and encourage you to reassure your students—that they are safe at school. This is a situation that local authorities are actively managing.

This can be a traumatic experience for a child to learn about (especially so close to home) and, as to be expected, there are varying degrees of the knowledge in which they truly know. If your child has questions or expresses concern, we encourage you to reassure them that they are safe, that trusted adults are handling the situation, and that it’s okay to talk about their feelings. It’s also important to remind children not to speculate or spread rumors, and to trust that local authorities are doing their job to resolve the situation.

Have a great weekend and keep those kiddos well rested and ready to work next week!

"Win the moment"

Mr. Witherspoon

Percentage of Students Present: 93.12%(Goal: 100%)

Number of Students Tardy: 46...rise and shine, get those kiddos up and moving(Goal is 0)

Thank you very much to all the parents that have come in to the lobby to sign your students into school if you are running late!

Please remember, in efforts to get the students into the learning environment as soon as possible, parents/guardians are required to come in to sign their students into the Chromebooks.

April 18

• No School

April 22

• 6th Grade MSTEP (AM)
• ELA
• Battle of the Books Pizza Lunch

April 23

• 6th Grade MSTEP (AM)
• ELA
• Youth Making A Difference Celebration at Churchill HIgh School

April 25

• PBIS Assembly
• Bagel Day

April 27

• Yearbook Orders Last Day

April 29

• 6th Grade MSTEP (AM)
• Math

April 30

• 5th Grade MSTEP (AM)
• Math
• Bagel Day Orders Due

May 1 (OMG..yes, May!)

• 5th Grade MSTEP (AM)
• Math

May 2

• PBIS Assemblies
• Bagel Day

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES:

May 14: Spring Fling 5 pm - 8pm

May 28: Incoming 5th grade Night

May 30: Field Day

Please pay attention to your child's class schedule for MSTEP time. The testing will all take place in the morning and it will be important that all students are in school on time. Students that arrive late will not be permitted into the testing environment until there is a break and, therefore, result in the student having to make the test up.

One of our Scholastic Book Fairs is approaching quickly, and I’m thrilled to announce that Livonia Public Schools has secured a grant to make it possible for every 5th grader at our school to take home 5 books for free (up to a $50 value)! Click HERE for more information.

Flower Delivery Day is May 19th at Cooper Upper Elementary. As of right now the truck will be here after the buses, so around 9:15. Any help you could give, would be greatly appreciated!!!! I will keep you updated on any time changes.

Click HERE to volunteer on the day of the delivery...thank you in advance!!!

Please be sure to complete the Course Request form form Emerson if you have not done so. I want to be sure that you have a voice in choosing the courses for next year...thank you!

Yearbooks are still available for preorder, but hurry—the deadline to order is April 27th!

This is your chance to secure a copy of this year’s memories, so don’t miss out on preserving these special moments. Yearbooks are only available through preordering, so be sure to place your order before the deadline.

Please note that yearbooks will NOT be available after the deadline. Be sure to secure your copy before time runs out! Order now to guarantee you don’t miss out on this special keepsake.

Let's go make a difference Cooper!

Click on the following links to find out what you can do to make a difference as well as a commitment form (the only requirement is to document the good deed that you have done...and have fun doing it)!!:

• YMAD General Outline for Students 2024-2025
  
• YMAD Commitment Form 2024-2025

Completed projects due: April 9, 2025

Celebration at Churchill High School: April 23, 2025

• Begin to prep your child for school by making sure that routines are established.
• Bedtime routines (read a book, cut off screen time at least 1 hour prior to bedtime, etc.)
• How Much Sleep Does my Child Need?
• Students can begin entering the building at 8:15 am (please do not drop off students any earlier as there will not be any adult supervision prior to that time).

• How will your child get to and from school?
• Bus: get to know the bus letter/number, bus stop, arrival/departure time.
• Dropping off in a car?
• Know the traffic pattern and the door that your child will enter through for school.
• Is your child walking?
• Know the location and door number that your child will be entering and leaving through.

• FHS Kids Camp (5th-8th Grade): June 17-18
• Informational flyer with the information to send payment
• signup here
• All American: July 14-15
• flyer and signup

Click HERE to nominate somebody who is ready to carry on the PTA tradition!!!

Please click HERE to donate for Staff Appreciation Week.

Here are a few activities parents can do to help their children with empathy:

1. "If I Were In Their Shoes..."

• Activity: Present a scenario (e.g., “Someone drops their lunch tray in the cafeteria”), then ask students:

  • How would that person feel?

  • What could you do to help?

• Extension: Have students write or draw how they'd respond.

2. Emotion Role-Play

• Activity: Students act out different emotional scenarios (lost toy, new student, bad grade, happy news) while others guess what emotion they’re showing and why.

• Goal: Helps recognize and respond to emotions in others.

3. Kindness Cards

• Activity: Students write anonymous kind notes to classmates or staff (“You’re a great listener,” “Thanks for always helping out”).

• Bonus idea: Deliver them in a "Kindness Mailbox."

4. Empathy Book Club

• Activity: Read short stories or picture books centered on emotions and challenges. Ask reflection questions like:

  • What was the character feeling?

  • What would you do in their place?

• Book ideas: Each Kindness, Those Shoes, The Invisible Boy

5. "What’s the Story?" Pictures

• Activity: Show photos of people (different ages, places, emotions). Ask students:

  • What do you notice?

  • How might this person be feeling?

  • What might have happened before/after this moment?

6. "Walk Around the World"

• Activity: Research the life of a child in a different country or situation. Discuss:

  • How is their life similar/different from yours?

  • What might be hard for them? What brings them joy?

7. Empathy Puzzles

• Activity: Assign each student a puzzle piece and have them write/draw something kind or about someone else's feelings. Put the pieces together to create a “Caring Community Puzzle.”

8. Feelings Circle

• Activity: Regularly sit in a circle and have students share something that made them feel happy, proud, sad, or frustrated. Practice listening without interrupting or judging.

9. Empathy Journal Prompts

• “A time I felt misunderstood was…”

• “Someone I admire because they care about others is…”

• “When I helped someone, I felt…”

10. "Secret Helper" Game

• Activity: Assign students a classmate to secretly help or encourage throughout the week. Reveal the helpers at the end!

• Goal: Builds daily habits of kindness and awareness.

Taking care of our mental health is important – for kids and adults! Here’s some information

about mental health and how you can support your child’s mental well-being. Please click on the following links to learn more:

Mental Health Matters

Coping Strategies to Manage Stress and Tough Emotions

Please view local community resources at the link below. This will be continuously revised, so please check back throughout the school year. Community Resources If you need any support, please feel free to reach out to our Cooper Support Staff.

Mallory McLean mmclean12@livoniapublicschools.org Rachel Banks Dzikowski rdzikows@livoniapublicschools.org Paige Demaree pdemaree@livoniapublicschools.org

When you or your child needs help, it’s hard to know where to turn. In an effort to ease the burden of finding the mental health and substance use services you need, we’ve partnered with Care Solace, your central hub of care.

With a network of over 425,000 providers and services, Care Solace will help you find the right help at the right time, 24/7/365, at no cost to you. They will connect you with providers accepting all medical insurances, including Medicaid, Medicare, and sliding scale options for those without insurance. You can access Care Solace services in three ways:

• Call 888-515-0595 at any time. Multilingual support is available 24/7/365. A dedicated Care Companion will help you every step of the way to research options, secure appointments, and follow up to make sure it is a good fit.
• Search anonymously to get matched with an extensive list of care providers at https://caresolace.com/site/livonia
• Contact your school health professional, and they will submit a referral on your behalf.

No matter what you're experiencing, there is hope and help. We are confident that our new partnership with Care Solace will help us build a healthier, more vibrant school community.
If you have a life-threatening emergency, please call 9-1-1 or The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8. Care Solace is not an emergency response service or mental health services provider.

Cooper is a school-wide Title I building. This means that Cooper receives additional federal funding to help support all students in our building. A condition of this funding requires all families sign the yearly Cooper Compact for each student that is enrolled at Cooper.

Please review and Complete the Cooper Compact form as soon as possible.

This is an excellent opportunity to be a mentor to our students. We love having parents and grandparents help in these positions. Responsibilities include supervising students during lunch in the lunchroom & outside at recess.

Daily 11:00-1:00 p.m. They are paid positions, and there is an application process through Edu Staff. If you are interested please click on the link below and begin the application process through Edu Staff using the link below:

https://www.edustaff.org/

Click "Start and Application" and then proceed through the guided steps. When you get to #4 on the application, click on Wayne RESA, then Livonia Public Schools. When you get to #5, click on Noon Attendant (Noon Monitor).