SHARE:  
 SUMMER 2017
Summer at Cotting!

What a summer we've had at Cotting School!  Before we take a few weeks off before the start of our 124th year, we want to revisit some of the highlights of the past five weeks!


Despite some warm days, students have been hard at work in the classroom. Our hands-on science curriculum has made for some fun experiments!  For many of our middle school students, they learned about force and impact in their Engineering unit through an egg drop demonstration!  In addition to the egg drop, they learned about the properties of buoyancy by building and testing boats.  In the photo above, Ms. Maimone's class talks plot and character development in the young adult novel, "Holes." 


Outside the classroom, our students stayed very active this summer.  With a yoga class, Flamenco Dancing, and Martial Arts to choose from, they were always on the move! Friday afternoon soccer games for the Lower and Middle School students continued to be very popular as well.

Visiting Videographer Luke Terrell Documents Cotting Summer School
We have been so fortunate to have a visiting artist-in-residence with us all summer, videographer Luke Terrell!  You may have met Luke at our ReelAbilities screening last April, when we featured his very own documentary, Gabe.  He  has been living at Cotting and documenting our summer since day one.  He's captured classroom instruction, conducted interviews, and even shot a drone photo of the entire school on our turf field!  Luke will be putting his footage together to make a few films for us to showcase who we are.  To learn more about Luke, visit the blog and read our interview!
Summer Curriculum Institute
Dives Into Mathematics
The Summer Curriculum Institute continued this summer with the focus on mathematics. Funded by the Peabody Foundation, teachers Andy Lindblad, Sejal Costa, John Meredith, and Jeanine Meredith have been hard at work for five weeks, dedicating their time exclusively to mathematics curriculum research.

Their task has been to design a program that will help our teachers differentiate math instruction.  Their efforts will lead to the creation of some helpful new lessons, but more importantly, a clear direction about how the lessons work together.  This group hopes to continue the great work of past SCI groups over the years, whose efforts have already shaped our science and literacy curricula.

Check out the video below, where Sejal and Andy talk about the program's scope and sequence, which connects to our common core.  The SCI will present their work to the rest of the staff at the end of the summer, which will directly impact our math instruction this coming fall!
Help out HOPEhouse!
HOPEhouse has seen some big changes this year!  Since this past spring, young adults at HOPEhouse have had the option to attend Cotting School's day program Monday-Friday to continue their academic work.  These students then return to HOPEhouse after school to continue building their independent living skills.

Meal prep is one of the skills that students develop at HOPEhouse. The HOPEhouse kitchen is currently in need of some new items, ranging from baking ware to mixing bowls to a toaster.  Consider a gift to HOPEhouse today to ensure that our young adults have the equipment they need to strive for independence and prepare for their future!

Save the Date: 5th Annual Burr Family Conference!
Making Things Possible:
Educating the Whole Child
Saturday, November 18th
For more information, visit www.cotting.org/cotting-conference/