Hello Parents, I hope you have been enjoying  your week!  Just a reminder there is no school on Friday. We are attending the 21st Century Learning at the public school that day.

Language Arts- Well, they took the Benchmark Unit 1 test this week. I broke it up over 3 days. Each day they were to read 2 stories and answer questions.  I am not done scoring them yet, but overall it isn't looking the best. Following the Core is definitely giving all of us more of a challenge than in the past. The questions were harder, but they did follow things we've talked about throughout our first unit. They were asked to define words in the context. They were asked to figure out the chronological order of events. They were asked to read a poem and then answer the questions. I told the kids they should really read the story twice before answering the questions to make sure they fully understood what was happening. I am not sure if they took my advice or not.  We will go over them on Thursday. I also have a copy of last week's assessment in their folder. This is your copy. The comprehension questions were difficult, but I think they had a harder time with the decoding and the grammar. It was quite clear that some kids know the difference between singular and plural nouns while others do not. They really have to read ALL the choices given to them before picking an answer. They have to look at the clues given in the example sentences as well.
Next week we will begin our next unit. They will have a spelling test next week too. They are also writing a Halloween story. They are just writing their rough draft now. That will be due on Wednesday, October 9.

Math--Mrs. Parrish, our college student, taught a lesson on Tuesday and Wednesday dealing with the subtraction of decimals. She also brought them in a little cookie treat! They were pretty happy with that one! Due to her son being ill and having to push that lesson back, the test has been pushed back too. I only pushed it back a day. So, now they will have a math test on Oct. 8. I believe our next chapter will be over multiplication.

Religion- We will be saying the rosary this month. I told them they could bring their own rosary, but they were responsible for taking care of it. I do have plenty of extras so they don't need to bring one from home. In 5th grade, they will also learn all the different mysteries of the rosary. They will also have 2 prayers to memorize, but we aren't there yet.
Have a GREAT weekend! I plan on catching some soccer games in Des Moines. My nieces will be there playing. God Bless, Miss Surma