Transition to Semesters
One of the changes you will experience this year is our move from three trimesters to two semesters. This was something that was discussed for a year before we implemented it with the school leadership teams. While we are moving from three reports to two, we believe the information you receive about your child will be much more comprehensive and provide more meaningful opportunities for parent collaboration and feedback.
As such, we have moved family conferences up a month to get an earlier start on the family/school collaboration. We believe that this initial meeting (in November) will be an ideal time for parents to get information about what to expect for the upcoming year, meet individually with clinical and teaching teams, review curriculum and goals for the class, as well as begin a conversation about your child’s participation and progress in class.The goal is for you to be as informed as possible about what your child is doing in school, provide feedback about your own observations, and have clarity about what to expect in the upcoming year.
In March, your second conference will take place. We will be able to review progress and update goals at this point. We will also begin to discuss the transition into the next year to ensure a smooth move into the next grade or school.
The first reports will be out in January, the second in June. January gives the teachers enough time to provide quality feedback. The extra time, coupled with your participation in the November/March conferences, helps teachers gain a better picture of how your child is doing in school and how much progress they have made towards their goals.
The meetings and the reports are spread out throughout the year to make sure there are consistent check-in points. As always, you can reach out to your child’s teacher or check Seesaw for updates at any time.
Student Updates
SKILLs teachers Annabel Ray, Ari Simner, Nina Ibanez, Hannah Findlay, and Devin Merrick went to Hudson NY to visit Triform Camphill Community in October. We were able to see Cooke alumni students in their cozy new homes. We got to visit with, and meet, the host families and fellow residents and catch up with Cooke Graduates. At Triform, we toured the barn, the pottery studio, and the weavery. Elizabeth Macgregor was busy with her weekly Saturday house cleaning, and introduced us to all her housemates and friends. Sarah Bieber was having her birthday party, and we got to “crash” as she played UNO and ate cake.
David Wagner’s host family took us on a short hike and a picnic on a beautiful scenic overlook. David told us he is starting in the garden this month and that he feels like a “smurf” being a gardner. Then we said goodbye so he could head to the Saturday evening movie. Everyone we met was incredibly kind and hospitable. The environment felt calm and serene––some residents cleaned their houses, while others enjoyed a quiet morning at the weavery, gazing out through the glass windows to watch the cows graze. The residents all seemed very happy and relaxed.
#WeLoveCooke💛💚💙
