Cooke School & Institute

10/05/2026

Join the PSA (Parent-School Association)!

Our families have helped create some wonderful experiences for our community with care, creativity, and coordination. This year, there are several ways to get involved:

• Serve as a class parent: Help connect families in your child’s class and coordinate participation in school activities.
• Join the movie night committee: Help plan a fun evening for students and families, from organizing details to lending a hand at the event.
• Volunteer at the book fair: Assist with setup, help students and families browse, or support the event throughout the day.
• Help with Educator Appreciation Week: Work with other families to plan thoughtful ways to celebrate our educators.
• Bring a new idea! Share your interests, skills, or suggestions for strengthening our school community.

Cooke Parents! Come Join Us! Check your most recent newsletter from your child's Division Head for a link to complete the online form indicating interest.

10/02/2026

🌟 Welcome Jessica Berns, our new Middle School English Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher! 💙

Jessica comes to Cooke with a strong background working with students with disabilities in educational settings around the world, along with deep knowledge of practical, real-world instruction delivered in student-centered classrooms.

“What excites me most about joining Cooke is getting to know each student as an individual and discovering what makes them light up!" says Jessica. "I want my classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable being themselves, know they belong, and feel proud of what they can do. I’m looking forward to building strong relationships, celebrating their growth, and helping each student build confidence along the way.” 💙✨

🇪🇸 Did you know? Jessica spent the last five years living and teaching in Barcelona, Spain, and has traveled to more than 40 countries! 🌎✈️ She and her husband enjoyed taking advantage of the ease in exploring other countries while living in Spain, checking destinations off their list and, as self-described foodies, sampling local dishes along the way. Jessica especially loved Barcelona’s architecture, including the distinctive buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí.

Welcome Jessica! We're so happy to have you on board!

10/01/2026

Cooke Annual Coin Campaign
October 5-9

The annual Coin Campaign, our first Cooke-wide event of the year, is almost here! From October 5-9, all students/families across our K-12 and Transitions campuses will be collecting change in support of Cooke.*

The pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters that students bring in will kick off our Annual Giving Campaign while giving students a hands-on lesson in kindness, giving, and philanthropy. Let’s show up for our community in a big way!

*Our goal is 100% family participation, signaling to Cooke supporters (e.g., foundations, corporations) that we are all on board in support of our amazing programs, including free afterschool and school lunch.

09/25/2026

Congratulations to our winners of the 2026 Door Decorating Contest!

LC Science (Ms. Hill & Mr. V)

LC Sunflowers (Ms. Mujica & Ms. Morel)

UC Ravens (Ms. Crump & Mr. Bieber)

09/21/2026

09/18/2026

Our students earn bracelets throughout the year for demonstrating the 5Cs of Cooke: Creativity, Confidence, Clarity, Courage, and Compassion. Now, staff have the opportunity to earn a Terrific Tiger Trophy by demonstrating these same characteristics in the amazing work we do each day.

Our Annual Door Contest winners were awarded for CREATIVITY! 🎨 Their creativity and school spirit helped kick off this year.

LC Science (Ms. Hill & Mr. V)

LC Sunflowers (Ms. Mujica & Ms. Morel)

UC Ravens (Ms. Crump & Mr. Bieber) (A 2-sided door!)

And this is just the beginning… stay tuned to see which staff members are recognized for bringing one of the 5Cs to life at Cooke!

09/18/2026

🌟 Welcome Tara Roth-Ramos, M.S., our new Hearing Specialist and Elementary Special Educator! 💙

“Tara joins us as a hearing teacher, here on Wednesdays and Thursdays and working with our Transition students downtown on Tuesdays,” says Associate Head of School, Jessie Gardner. “Tara brings a wealth of experience as a special education and Deaf and Hard of Hearing teacher. She has extensive experience supporting students with a range of hearing needs and assistive devices, collaborating with families and multidisciplinary teams, and helping students access and participate fully in the classroom. She also brings expertise in American Sign Language (ASL) and a strong background in inclusive education. Welcome Tara!”

“I am honored to step into the Hearing Specialist role at Cooke School. It is an opportunity to restore an essential role, strengthen support for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, and ensure that every student has the opportunity to be heard, understood, and successful!” says Tara. 💙

🎶 Fun fact: As a freshman at the Waldorf School of Garden City, Tara spent a month touring Europe with 50 other student singers as a member of the Waldorf Singers. In each city, the students stayed with host Waldorf families. While in Germany, Tara stayed with a family who spoke no English, but managed to communicate using the German she had learned during her first year of study. 🇩🇪🎵✈️

🎤 Another fun fact: Tara once found herself in a group on the Westbury Music Fair stage, singing with Kenny Rogers after he invited volunteers to join him!

Tara has already gotten started at Cooke, leading her first Transitions class in ASL! 🤟🏽💙

We’re so happy to welcome Tara to Cooke and look forward to all she will contribute to our students and community!

09/17/2026

Now Is the Time to Enroll!
EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS TOMORROW!

Cooke Institute presents
Executive Function Professional Learning Series
Mondays: October 19, November 2, November 16 & November 30
4:00–5:15 p.m. over Zoom
Instructors: Andi Sachs, M.S., OTR/L, EFC, and Mary Clancy, EdD

$249 for all four sessions
Early Bird: $220 by September 18
Eligible for 5 CTLE hours

Build your Executive Function toolkit with experts who bring both classroom experience and academic credentials to the conversation. Explore practical, evidence-based strategies you can use right now, while connecting with colleagues and peers who are navigating many of the same challenges in today’s classrooms.

We make it easy for professional educators to begin the school year with new strategies, a fresh perspective, and the expertise to inspire students’ progress.

For more information and to register online, see https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/RqqQJSN/EFSeries or link in bio.

09/16/2026

🧪🌱 A Fresh Start in Middle School Science! 🌱🧪

The Yankees cohort had an exciting first day of Middle School Science on Monday! In addition to learning new class procedures and getting acquainted with their science journals (Middle School students learn new vocabulary words each week, which they record in their journals along with other insights), students engaged in a special activity.

They headed up to the Rooftop Garden to harvest the “crops” they helped grow from seeds planted at the end of the 2025–26 school year! 🍅🌿 Students picked cherry tomatoes and plan to use them to make omelets with Ms. V in the classroom later this week. 🍳

Ms. V's other science classes will soon harvest the green peppers and cilantro that were also grown from seed.