Thursday, December 18, 2014

Hello Parents, The days are counting down!!! Christmas break is getting closer! This will be the final letter for 2014!!!! WOW! Time is flying by quickly!

Reading-- We read a story this week on James Forten. He was a free African American who fought during the Revolutionary War.  We helped on a ship. His job was to help load the cannons with the gun powder. Their ship had chosen to surrender instead of the possibility of being sunk. He was then captured. He and other prisoners were held on an old ship that they turned into a prison. James was worried that once he was captured, he would be sent to Africa and be made a slave, which was a real possibility. He didn't. By the end of his life he had become a wealthy businessman and then he fought for the rights of women to vote and the equal rights of all African Americans. His story is pretty remarkable. We had a pretty good discussion on the topic. This unit has created great discussions on how they fought in the Revolutionary War and how much has changed since that time. In grammar we are working on when to use commas and semi-colons as well as quotation marks. We did most of this together in class because I really think that this area of punctuation is difficult. There are so many rules are where these things need to be placed. Now, the worksheets made it pretty easy for us because they left us a gap where the punctuation was to go! I'm afraid that gap won't be there on the test! I did tell the kids that! Our test is going to be today due to the busy schedule we have on Friday.
When we return in January we will have one more story in the unit before we have to take the unit test.

 I will also be assigning the next book report when we return in January. It won't be due until late February.

Math-- I thought they did GREAT on their tests. The most missed questions dealt with estimating. The reason they missed might have been the wrong answer, but most missed them because they didn't show me their estimating. They just chose one of the answers. I told them throughout the chapter and before they took the test, they had to show me their estimating or I would just assume they guessed.  I also told them that it is NOT estimating when we add or subtract a problem and then just round that up.  I taught them to round or use benchmark numbers first and then do the adding and subtracting. Scores would have been even better if they had just taken the time to do that, and they had plenty of time. I am just doing some more decimal work with them before we go on break. When we return we we will work on multiplying decimals. 

Christmas Program-- Don't forget the Christmas program is on Sunday at the YMCA at 2:00. Make sure you let Mrs. Mullin know if your child won't be there. I am excited to see the 5th grade perform. They come in singing after music! We head to the YMCA on Friday to practice. 

December 23, 2014-- The students will need a sack lunch on Tuesday. No drink needed. Remember it is now a 2 hour early out!!!! 

Advent Angels- The students will eat with their Angels on Tuesday. I know some kids like to get their Angels a Christmas present, which is very kind. I do want to suggest that it be reasonable in price and size. These little kids have to be able to get it home on Tuesday and that may mean the bus. I know last year some bought these huge stuffed animals for their little Angel and while it was a sweet gift, it made it hard for them to carry on the bus. Remember you don't have to buy a gift at all.! That is not a requirement, and I don't expect you to. 

January 7-8- I am planning to be gone on these dates. My mom is having 2 teeth removed. With her Alzheimers and being on a blood thinner, I want to be there just in case she needs something..unless the weather stops me from going. I will be back with the kids on the 9th. The 7th is a 3 hour early out day. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!!! May you have a wonderful holiday with friends and family. If you are traveling, I pray for a safe trip. I am heading to Doon as soon as we get out on Tuesday.  Merry Christmas! God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! I am so looking forward to the warmer weather they keep talking about this weekend! I know it won't feel like winter, but I will suffer through just fine!

Reconciliation- Next week Thursday we will have students receive this sacrament. We try to do this during Advent and Lent. So, I will be talking to them about examining their conscience and the things they want to share with Father.  In religion we are working on a chapter that covers the Advent season.

Geography Bee- The final round will be next Friday, December 19 at 10:15 in the morning. We will be in the gym. If your child is in the final round you are welcome to come watch! If your child didn't make it that far, but you love geography, you are more than welcome to come watch! If you just want to get out of the house for a little while, come and watch! I have 3 of my 5th graders in it this year! Good luck Aliyah, Megan, and Rowan! We will be cheering you on!

Reading- This week we are reading a nonfiction piece about Molly Pitcher. She actually helped the soldiers during the Revolutionary War alongside her husband William Hays. She took care of the injured and  helped the sick, but she  is most known for carrying a pitcher of water to the soldiers during the battle! They would yell out, "MOLLY---PITCHER!"  That is how she got her name! The day was very hot and humid! She ran around giving them drinks of water from a nearby spring. At one point, she was helping load a cannon. She was remarkable! I think the 5th graders enjoyed this story! We are also working more with verbs- specifically irregular verbs. These verbs don't add -ed or -d to form the past tense of the verb. For example: go:went, buy:bought, and leave:left.

Math- We are finishing up our chapter on adding and subtracting decimals today. Tomorrow we will review for the test. The test will be on Monday. I will tell them to take the sample review home tomorrow to do some more practicing over the weekend. I know they have the adding and subtracting down. The key things they need to remember are to drop the decimal into their answer and pay attention to the addition and subtraction signs. An area that may need practice is estimating by rounding and using benchmark numbers. I create a number line for them to compare benchmark numbers.   I will make a copy for them to use over the weekend. The last thing they need to work on is reading the story problems and trying to focus on what is being asked of them. Do they need to add or subtract? Many of them in the end of our chapter have been multi-step problems.          

Music- The 4th and 5th graders will be singing at the Congregate Meal Site at the depot on Monday, December 22. We are just planning to walk there. Mrs. Mullin will be sending out a permission form I believe. We will be back in time to eat lunch here at school.

Christmas Program-- We will be going to the YMCA next Friday as a school to do a dress rehearsal. The program is on Sunday, December 21 at 2:00. If you are not able to make it, please let Mrs. Mullin know ASAP. There will be a permission form going home for that today I believe.

December 23- It is an hour early out. Students will need a sack lunch that day. Milk will be provided. We will be caroling in the gym before we leave for break, if you'd like to come and join us from 1:30-2:00.      

I hope you have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma                                               

                                                   
              


Friday, December 5, 2014

Just a reminder:  We have mass on Monday. Students are to dress up for mass! We also have mass on Friday. 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Hello Parents! Happy Advent Season!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did! I think the prayer service and pizza party we had in memory of TJ and Nate on Monday went very well. It was good to sit and share some happy memories, but they are always in our thoughts and prayers. We will never forget. 

St. Nicholas Project- Once again we are donating items for this project from the Des Moines Diocese. Students in 5th grade are asked to donate bars of soap or diapers. Please help out if you are able to!

Mass- Next week we are having masses on Monday and Friday. Monday is a holy day of obligation  with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On Friday we are celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The students are expected to dress up on both days. There will be no mass on Wednesday.

Christmas Program- This year's Christmas Program is Sunday, December 21 at the YMCA at 2:00 p.m. We realize the lateness of this year's program, so if you are going to be celebrating a family Christmas that day and unable to attend, please have your child let Mrs. Mullin know as soon as possible. Thank you!

December 23- Students will need a sack lunch. Milk will be provided. 

Reading- This week's story deals with King George during the Revolutionary War. He thought since he was king and told people he was making decisions that he thought were good for everyone, they would all just agree with him. He couldn't understand why the Americans were unhappy with being taxed. Go figure! We are also talking about figurative language. Today we discussed similes, metaphors, and idioms.  Similes and metaphors are 2 things being compared, but a simile will use the words  like or as. Metaphors use words to say one thing "is" another. Idioms were fun! We discussed ,"It's raining cats and dogs!" I told them that in Africa they have a similar one. They say," It's raining old women and clubs!" We all thought that was pretty funny. Idioms are sentences that cannot be taken literally. Another example would be telling an actor or singer to "break a leg". 

Math- They were busy this week with estimating decimals by rounding and using benchmark numbers such as: 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1. Of course that could go on to 1.25, 1.50,etc. They also worked on adding and subtracting decimals. We should be finishing up this chapter next week. As of right now, they will be having a test on Monday, Dec. 15, but we will see if things change next week. 

Religion- They did fantastic on their last test. We are now discussing the liturgical calendar and the Advent Season. 

I have a book order in your child's folder. Please make sure your order is in by next Friday. That way you should be able to get them before Christmas break. If your order is a surprise for Christmas, let me know. That way I will email you instead of giving them the book! 

Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Happy Thursday Everyone! This week seems to flying by for some reason! I hope you are having a great week! 

Mass- Just a reminder that the 5th graders will be doing the mass next week. You are more than welcome to come!!! I will assign them their parts on Friday. In the beginning of the year, they filled out a card for me with their first 3 mass job preferences. I am trying to stick to it, unless I just can't because more than one signed up for it. Hopefully, they will get to do that job at a later mass. 

Reading- This week we read a story called Dangerous Crossing. It's an historical fiction story with John Adams and his son Johnny. They are on a boat ride to France. In our small group center time, we read an historical fiction story on the Boston Tea Party. While both stories are fiction, we had some great discussions on what life was like back for the adults and the kids. We are also focusing on cause and effect again. Our grammar lessons have been about subject pronouns and object pronouns and their antecedents. 

Math- We have started the decimal chapter, but we are only two lessons in. We have covered discussing what decimals are and their places behind the decimal. We have talked about when we use decimals in real life-- money, when I am looking for a percentage, times being taken in a swim meet, track meet, or even racing cars. On Wednesday, they learned how to write the number in standard form, written form, and expanded form. The expanded form was different than the way I have taught it  in the past, but I must admit!I really liked it better today! It gave them a better picture of what it actually means.   4.268=  4x1+ 2x(1/10)+ 6x (1/100) + 8 x (1/1000). The old way just consisted of us adding the decimals together 4+ 0.2 +0.06 + 0.008.  That could be just as confusing because of all the zeros. 

Book Reports- Will need to be picked up by Friday. Mrs. Sickels will let you or your child know when they can take the social studies project home. 

Next week I don't plan on doing another reading story in 3 days. My plan is to do some work with grammar and some writing activities.  The first round of the geography bee will be next Wednesday after mass. 

I don't plan on blogging next week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you are traveling, have a safe trip. Enjoy the break and time with your families. We will continue our prayers for the Frey family as the one year anniversary is the 30th. 
I will be going to Mom's house for the weekend. I think we will be with my sister and her family and in-laws in Madison, SD on Thanksgiving. 


I hope you have a great weekend! Hopefully, it will warm up! These January temps in November... I am not enjoying at all!!!
God Bless,
Miss Surma

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Don't forget to sign up for a conference time!!!!
Happy Thursday Everyone!!!! I hope you are having a great week!

Book Reports- These are due on Friday!!!! They won't all share them on Friday. I am going to do  a few a day so we can keep going with the other things we need to do. 

Reading - This week they read a story called Cougars. This was another nonfiction story that shared information about cougars. I think we all found it pretty interesting. Our grammar this week dealt with quotation marks and where we place them in different situations. We did this together rather than assigning it because I think it can be a difficult task. On Friday's test, they will be given 4 sentences with quotations, commas, and interjection words. They will have to pick out the sentence that is written correctly. This is the final story in this unit. That means next week we will be using the week to do book reports and a unit test. There won't be any spelling next week. 

Math-This week we worked on the standard algorithm in division again, but with double digit divisors. They also worked on story problems and figuring out what do you do with that remainder? They learned that the remainder can be written as a fraction in some situations. They also learned that sometimes that fraction causes you to add another number to your quotient, but it depends on what is leftover.  For example, if I am dividing my kids up to go in cars and I have 2 kids left out..does that mean they don't get to go along? No, that means I need one more car so they can go along.  We are nearing the end of this chapter. They could also be testing in this next week. Our next chapter deals with decimals--adding, subtracting, multiplying, and probably dividing decimals. 

Religion- This week is Vocations Awareness . We did a couple of lessons on vocations and realizing what our gifts and talents are and how we can use them in our vocations. We now have a wall in the classroom that states what they consider to be their talents and gifts. I used that in our class meeting on Wednesday as well. They were to write down a talent or gift of each person. I will be making signs for us to have in the classroom with their descriptions. 

Social Studies -Their Iowa History project and paper are due on Monday!!! They did a great job with their counties!!! The state of Iowa is now posted in the hallway. It looks awesome! It is fun to see all the kids in grades 3-5 stop and check it out. 

Spaghetti Supper is Saturday!!! Civics Club will have games in the classrooms!

Book Fair-- It will be going on during conferences. Please check it out! I won't be sending home any book orders this month because we have the book fair. 

Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma

Monday, November 3, 2014

Hello Parents, 
I am still needing those Parent-Teacher Conference Pre-Conference Surveys returned to me. I have 4 at last count. If you misplaced yours, let me know. I will get you a new one!!! 

Reminder-- Book Reports are due this Friday, November 7!!!!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Hello Parents!!! Where did October go??? WOW! I cannot believe the time has gone by so quickly!

Halloween- We will do our regular Halloween activities tomorrow on Halloween.The students should bring their costume to school that day.  The parade of costumes will be at 2:30 in the gym. You are more than welcome to join us! If you are going to take your child home afterwards, please let me know before you leave. Thanks! 

Reading-- This week we read a story called Storm Warriors. It takes place in the 1800s. It is about a boy named Nathan who wants to become a surfman. That is someone who would rescue people from accidents on the water. I think nowadays we call that the Coast Guard! In their center time this week, I had 3 groups reading different stories. Each story dealt with the weather somehow. One group had tsunamis, another had a blizzard, and the final group dealt with rain and flooding. After they read their stories that had to pick out details and draw a conclusion from that. They were given a question to focus their answers on. The spelling list was fun to give on Monday! I gave them the hint that is was compound words, but also had to add that some are written as one word, some are two words, and others are separated with hyphens! They didn't that was so easy after they heard that I wasn't going to tell them which was which. :) 


Math-- We have moved on to estimating quotients this week using compatible numbers. This is something I have done every year. It is a good way to get them to begin the process of the standard algorithm that you know from your childhood. I know partial quotients made you uncomfortable because it wasn't what you were taught. We were taught a shortcut, but remember this is just one more strategy for your children to have in their pockets. In reality, when they are adults they will grab a calculator to do their division, but I still want them to know all the different ways to solve a problem. Partial quotients may have seemed like a longer process because we started by taking groups of 10 out of the dividend. But once they realized they didn't just have to do 10s, some were taking out 20s or 15s and a bigger chunk of that dividend was taken away each time. I want our kids to grow up with more choices. I think it's important to keep an open mind and realize that even the standard algorithm will cause kids pain. I have been teaching it for 19 years now, I know this to be true. It also forces us to step out of our comfort zone and try something new. If your child is struggling at home, please have them come in to see me in the morning. We can work on it together. 

Religion- We are wrapping up our Rosary section. Next week is Vocation Awareness Week. I will be doing a lesson or two on that in class. 

Don't forget to set your clocks back this weekend!

I am heading home this weekend. Have a great Halloween and weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Hello Parents, I hope you are having a good week! 

Halloween- We will do our regular Halloween activities on Halloween.The students should bring their costume to school that day.  The parade of costumes will be at 2:30 in the gym. You are more than welcome to join us! If you are going to take your child home afterwards, please let me know before you leave. Thanks! 

Math- This week we worked some more on division with single digits, but then we moved into a new strategy. It is called Partial Quotients. I know Mrs. Sickels taught partial products last year when they were doing multiplication. I did warn your kids that this strategy would most likely be new to you! They are still dividing, multiplying, and subtracting. This works with double digit divisors pretty easily.  It eliminates a lot of the guess work because they are using 10s. I will make sure to put an example in your child's folder, so you can see what I mean. This doesn't mean we won't go back to the old strategy to divide with double digits. This is just another way of doing it, and for some kids it may be easier. It really gets rid of try, check, and revise your work. I learned this strategy a few years ago when Mrs. Meisenheimer and I took all those math classes over 3 years. I find this one a lot of fun. It really does test them on their subtraction skills. 

Reading-- You will find their scores aren't as great as the week before. This was mainly due to the testing on Adages and Proverbs and Indirect Objects. We will be doing more of that work throughout the year. In my opinion, the test should give them some context to try and figure out what the meaning is of that proverb or adage.  This week's story is about trying to restore the Everglades in Florida. It is a nonfiction piece with some domain specific vocabulary. The spelling test was fun to give on Monday because it was over homophones. They really had to listen to the context of the sentence. They were hoping for easy words like whole and hole or dear and deer. :)

Religion- This week they are playing a matching game of the all 20 decades of the rosary. They have to match them to the correct mystery. Today they are taking a quiz on the Sorrowful Mystery.

In your folder you will find a letter about Mobymax.com.  This is something they work on in technology time, as well as Type to Learn. Mobymax can be done from home too. It is games and activities in math and language arts. 

We have had a few share their Halloween stories. I will be hanging them in the hallway. If you are here and want to read some, please do!

Book Reports- This is just a reminder that book report projects are due November 7. They have about 2 more weeks to complete the book and their project.

Our continued prayers go out to Kirk Levine who is having a difficult battle with cancer.

I hope you have a great weekend! I am actually staying in town! God Bless, Miss Surma



Thursday, October 16, 2014

Hello Parents! Hopefully your week is going well for you! 

Reading-- Please take a look at your child's reading test score from last week! Overall, these were the highest scores I have seen yet! I was so excited and proud of them! I thought the test questions were a little harder, but I guess that shows you what I know! HA! This week we read an excerpt from Old Yeller.  We are talking about how the two boys in the story react to the situation, trying to pick up on similarities and differences.We also talked about the dialect. The story takes place in Texas many years ago! I told them this is a classic and was made into a movie.  One of the other things we are focusing on are Adages and Proverbs. What is that you ask???  Haste makes waste. All good things must come to an end. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  Do any of those sound familiar? We worked on those in our center times. Many of them hadn't heard of them before, while others said, "My mom says that all the time!"  Feel free to replace "mom" with dad, grandma, or grandpa!;)


Math-- We have started division! We are only dividing by one digit so far. I really want them to understand the process before we move on. There will be other division strategies they will learn in this chapter. Just like in the last chapter, when they told me they couldn't divide, and I reminded them they know the Divisibility Property now! That is a strategy they can use to divide.  It wouldn't hurt to quiz them on their math facts at home, or while you're out running errands, or on a car ride somewhere.  I am still working on corrections with some of the kids and their math tests. Sorry for the wait, but I usually have to wait for some free time to be able to sit down with them. 

Halloween Stories-- I am also near the end of editing the stories. Some of the kids have gotten their story back and are supposed to type it up. I gave them a week to do that. I let them know their due date as well. Due dates are different depending on what day they get it back. If you are having computer problems, please email me and we can set up some time before and/or after school time. They can work in the library to get it typed up. 

Religion- This week they are looking up the mysteries of the rosary in the Bible. All of these mysteries stem from something that happened to Mary or Jesus. They are finding those stories now before they have to really learn or memorize them. 

Book Orders- Just a reminder that I sent home the order forms last week. They are due on Friday. You can also place your order online instead of turning in the money and order slip to me. 

Book Reports-- These are due November 7,2014. That is 3 weeks from Friday. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I head to Doon again on Friday. This should be the last time I HAVE to go. I think my sister should be driving next week. God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Hello Parents! I hope you have had a good week!

Reading- In your child's folder will be a letter and a score sheet from last week's unit test. I tried to explain in the letter what each test covered. I don't need those score sheets back. That is for you to keep. This week we are reading a story on a team of scientists researching the tree kangaroo or tree 'roo.  We are also beginning to work on verbs: action and helping verbs. We also read a myth about how the koala bear got its short tail. They are taking the weekly test and spelling test due to not having school tomorrow. Next week will be back to regular schedule.

Math- I have scored the tests, but I am now working with kids individually on the corrections. As soon as I have met with your child and they make the necessary corrections, I will send their test home. We will start our next chapter today. It begins with division. They will learn the traditional strategy for division, but they will also learn new ways to divide. This last chapter taught them to divide using the Distributive Property. I think giving them more than one to solve the problem will help those kids who struggle. They can pick a way that works for them in the end, but should try to do all the possible ways.

Religion- Most of the kids have already passed their two prayers! Woo hoo! The next step will be learning the Mysteries of the Rosary. There are 20 total. We will learn one mystery at a time. We will do a little research in the Bible to find where the stories are located.


Book Orders- They are in your child's folder. They will be due by next Friday, October 17. 

Class Meeting- I am reading the book Wonder aloud to the class. They are really enjoying it. It is a great story about bullying. The boy August has some facial deformities from birth. He was homeschooled, but then ends up going to school in 5th grade when his parents decide it is time. The kids have been very sympathetic to August as I read. Last week, he was totally shocked when he heard his "best friend" talking about him very negatively. I told the kids to write August's friend Jack a letter from August's point of view expressing what he had heard and how it made him feel. They shared their letters yesterday! WOW! They were so good! I will be sharing them with you at conferences.

Have a great weekend! I brought Mom home last weekend because she was ready to be at home, but my sister is still unable to drive. I am heading there tomorrow after work so that I can take care of the meds,etc. I will be back on Sunday! Mary should be driving in another week or so.
God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Hello Parents, I hope you have had a good week so far!  I can't believe we are in October already! WOW!

Reading- The kids are still finishing up the first unit test. I will send you scores next week when I am done checking everything.  I also gave them their first book report assignment. This isn't due until November 7. That gives them plenty of time to read a book and put together the project. I changed up my projects this year. I was getting tired of the same ones so I found some new ways to share the book. They only choose 1. They have a packet with all the projects listed and what is expected for each one. I am excited to see what they come up with! If you need poster paper or construction paper, I can supply that to them. If you do more than that, you will have to do some shopping. Some of the students have already picked out the book they want to share.

On Friday, I will share with them some of my favorite Halloween stories that my 5th grade teacher read to us. They will then begin writing their own Halloween story. This is one of my favorite projects. I do tell them that their story cannot have any blood or gore described in detail. I am not wanting Nightmare on Elm Street kinds of stories. I like scary or surprising, fun stories...keep it age appropriate.

Math- We will be finishing this chapter up this week. They should be testing on Tuesday of next week. We will be working on reviewing on Friday and Monday. This week they wrote algebraic expressions and learned about the order of operations in algebraic problems.

Religion- I have given them a copy of the two prayers they are to memorize. I told them that starting on Thursday, we will use one of those as our closing prayers before going home. I will quiz them on it beginning next week with Hail Holy Queen. They were quick to remember this was TJ's favorite prayer last year. We will also be saying a decade of the rosary each day.

Homecoming-- Friday is black and red day! It is time to show your support for the Creston Panthers. We are dismissing at 1:10 on that day.Homecoming Float: The Civics Club is putting together a float for the Homecoming parade tomorrow. Any St. Malachy student may ride the float and help distribute candy. Students can get on the float at the beginning of the parade - on Prairie Street east of Sycamore. Students are to be picked up at the Holy Spirit Church parking lot following the parade.

I hope you have a great weekend. I am heading to Doon with my mom. We are going to my niece's wedding, but Mom will be staying in Doon. I think she is tired of being here with me! :) She wants to be in her yard, raking! God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! I hope everyone enjoyed Balloon Days even though they never went up! I had a great time with my family in Waterloo and the Panthers won their game!

Reading- This week is our last story in this unit. That means next week will be our first big unit test. ding-It will cover all the skills we learned about during these past five stories. The benefit I see for the kids is that the opportunity to go back over the story and search for an answer is a possibility in the unit tests. They don't get that chance in our weekly tests. They need to use that little gift! The tests are not timed, so they should not rush through them.  This will mean NO spelling tests next week.

I will also talk to them about their first book report next week. We may also be starting their first big writing project. It will be a Halloween story. I like to start now because it does take time to write and edit. Plus the final draft has to be typed. I will give them due dates after editing, but I usually give them a week for typing. If you don't have a computer working at home, let me know. When that time arrives, we can make arrangements to use the computers in the library before or after school. If your printer is down, email me a copy of the story. I will print it off here. That will happen later though. We need to write them and get them edited first!

Math- We are nearing the end of our first chapter. I think I threw them a curve ball on Wednesday, so I may have to slow things down a bit with this lesson. I would think a test may happen towards the end of next week or the beginning of the next one. This is challenging stuff and some today were ready to call it quits. I told them to keep pushing at it and not give up! We can't have that negative "I can't" talk or we will be finished. I know they will get it! They just don't like the change from multiplication to division. It feels backwards to them. That's okay, we will work through it!

Religion- First, they did an AWESOME job at mass today! I was so proud of them! I know it is difficult getting up in front of your peers, but they were calm and collected. I loved that 3 of the girls were nervous, but sang the Psalm response anyway. Thank you, Mrs. Mullin, for working with them on that! They did great! Maybe some others will want to try it for our next mass??

The chapter we are working on now is over the Beatitudes. They are at the end of this one as well. They will be testing over it on Monday. Our next  piece won't be in the book. October is the month of the Rosary. The 5th graders have 2 prayers to learn as well as all the  decades. We will do that in class as well as say some of the Rosary each day. On Fridays during October, we will say the whole Rosary.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are having a great week! 

Religion- Just a reminder that the 5th graders first mass is next week!! You are more than welcome to come and attend mass. We'd love to see you there! They have their parts. Any reading parts should be practiced at home. We will practice next week in class as well. Mrs. Mullin is working with three of the girls. They are going to sing the response as well as lead the songs.  In religion class we are working on understanding the Beatitudes right now. We have been discussing ways people live them out each day, and generate ways that they can do the same. 

Math- This week we've worked on multiplying by one and two digit numbers. I have been really impressed with the class as a whole with this concept. The next few lessons in this chapter will be different than anything I am used to teaching, so I think we will all be learning something new. 

Language Arts- This week we read a story about a teacher who organized a double Dutch team at his school. Some of the girls are now practicing and trying to teach themselves this at recess. I think that is awesome! We are also working on skills like sequencing events in the story. They did more work on common and proper nouns as well as compound sentences.

Book Reports- The kids are asking me about when I will assign them their first one. I have decided to wait until October. I want us to get a full month under our belts before adding that assignment.

Have a great weekend! Mom and I are headed for Waterloo/Cedar Falls to see my sister and brother. God Bless, Miss Surma 



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Hello Parents, I hope you're having a great week!  Below you will see the picture of our poster after Wednesday's class meeting. They watched a couple of short videos about bullying and what a school is doing to stop it. Then we "erased" the meanness from last week's poster and answered the question, "How do you want to be remembered?"


Religion- They took their first test today. Our first chapter covered the Creation story as well as the Blessed Trinity. They had to draw a picture of one thing that could contain 3 things to represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Below you will see pictures of their work. I will post other pictures later.

Reading- This week's test on Friday is our 3rd test in the unit. This test will have a "cold read" story for them to read along with 10 questions. They will also have questions over the story that we read this week. In our small group time, they worked on comparing and contrasting with a Venn Diagram  about characters in the story. They also worked on vocabulary and figuring out the meaning of a word using the context clues in the sentence. This seems to be a difficult thing to do for some. They really need to slow down and pick up on the clues in the rest of the sentence and figure out what those words mean or could be giving a clue to.

Math- I am more excited today!! They begin to multiply! This first part should be review for them. They have to multiply a three digit number by a single digit. We will also be working on some estimating. They just need to remember to estimate BEFORE they work it out. We will go over that as well.

On Wednesday, September 10, we celebrated 2 birthdays! We celebrated Sarah's 10th and we also celebrated TJ Frey's 12th birthday. I brought in some "sticky" treats for him! We will celebrate Nate before we leave for Christmas. It was nice to just take time to remember those boys, not that we will ever forget.

Have a great weekend! I am heading home for the weekend to participate in the Alzheimer's Walk in Sioux Falls, SD with my niece and sister. We are TEAM SURMA...for both of my parents having been diagnosed with this disease. Stay warm! I can't believe I am saying that! God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Hello Parents! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

Class Meeting
On Wednesday, we have our class meetings. This week they worked in small groups using a thesaurus. They were to look up synonyms for the words bulling, mean,  and hate. In the picture they are busy writing their words on a big poster. Next week we will continue with this poster with a discussion on how we can erase "meanness" from our classroom and school.  We also reviewed being a Bucket Filler to each other and other kids in our school. One of the things I reminded them of was that we don't get the bucket filler slips to pat ourselves on the back or to keep score of how many we get. The goal is to change our way of acting and treating others. The goal is to be the person we know God wants us to be. To strive to be more like Jesus and help those people we see in need no matter what that looks like to others.

Reading-- I put a copy of your child's first score sheet from last Friday's test in their Take Home Folder. You can keep that copy. I will send one home every week of the previous Friday's test. I was really pleased overall with the scores. If your child didn't do very well in an area--like decoding,  I went over that with them again just to see what they were thinking. It was pretty great! They told me instantly what they should have chosen. They need to be careful on that piece of the text and make sure they are breaking the word up correctly with the syllables. They need to slow down there and just sound each option out before choosing.  This week they read a play in class about two girls who are at a summer camp. There is a mystery involved. Ask your child about it?

Math- We are working on place value. On Tuesday and Wednesday we went over the different properties for addition and multiplication. They knew two of them from learning it in previous years. This year they are adding the Distributive Property. I haven't really sent home a lot of their math work. I am trying to figure out if I should keep it to give me a better idea of where your child is finding success and what could be a struggle. We do a lot together and I have done some group work and partner work with them. 

Book Orders are due today, but if you forgot--send it in on Friday. I will put the order in this weekend. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Sounds like the weather is going to be great! 
God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Hello Parents! I hope you are doing well this week! I think we are finally getting into a little bit of a regular routine in the 5th grade room!

Math- They took a prerequisite test last week. The scores were not that great, but I expected that. The test is written assuming we've been working in this series for awhile. It just gives me an idea of what they already know and what we will really need to focus on. We started chapter one this week. They have 2 books. One of the books, we do many of the problems together. The other book has worksheets that they will do as their homework. On Wednesday, they did their first piece of homework. I did tell them to have their big book out so they could refer back to it. They didn't have a ton of problems to do. The other side of the homework was a Test Prep. This gives them questions that may appear on their first test down the road. I don't help with that one because again, I am trying to see what they already know. I did look it over and realized that we will be covering it later in the chapter. This series will be more challenging just like our language arts series was last year. I will try to keep the pace of it doable for them and us! I see the word Algebra appearing soon, but it seems to be things I have taught before. They will be learning about exponents too! This works along with learning place value names and values. As of right now, I am going to only have one "center" time in math until I get more familiar and comfortable with the new series. During that center time I will be working with kids who might be struggling with a concept. Those kids could easily change depending on the lesson we are working on.

Reading- We started our first story this week. It is a funny one! It is just an excerpt from a book, WaySide School is Falling Down.  I am told Mrs. Meisenheimer read it to them in 2nd grade. We did work in centers this week. Miss Miller, our aide, worked on vocabulary skills in her groups. In my groups we read short stories and worked on filling out our story maps. That is a skill in this first story. They are working on picking out the conflict, events, resolution, and main characters in the story.

Next week is a 4 day week. They will take a pretest in spelling on Tuesday with a posttest on Friday.

Religion- We started our year doing Bible research. We reviewed how to look up Bible verses together. They were then given a list of about 10 verses to look up and record the titles of those verses. Our first chapter revolves around the Creation story, but we will also talk about the Holy Trinity.

Book Order- In your child's folder is a book order. I would like all orders by next Thursday. Thanks. Last week I sent home the online code you can use to order instead of giving one to me with a check. If you are going to order with the form, please write your check to Scholastic Books or Amy Surma. Thanks again!

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend. I am traveling to Doon. My mom is coming back to Creston with me. She will be here for all of September, maybe longer because my sister is having shoulder surgery and won't be able to drive to see Mom and take care of her meds,etc.  Have a great weekend!
God Bless, Miss Surma

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Tomorrow (Thursday) is picture day! If your child hasn't returned their order form, please do so tomorrow. 

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Hello Parents,
This week I am putting a hard copy of my letter in your child's Take Home Folder. This letter is an overview of all subject areas and key things to know and remember throughout the year. Normally, my letters will appear here on my blog.

We had a great first day, I think!!  We will be doing a lot of testing in LA and Math to do some assessing. These will tell me areas they are doing well in and the areas I may need to help them in.

Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma


Thursday, May 22, 2014

Dear Parents, Wow! The last blog of the year! That time flew! 

Play-- Tomorrow is the big day! The kids that need a costume, should just pack it to bring to school. They will change in time for the play. I have given them suggestions on what to wear.  Please don't go out and buy something!!!!  Baker-- dress as though it were mass day. I will supply the apron and cap. Pablo-- Dress for mass maybe add a hat or cap if you like.  Villagers- Older people in the community. They can wear mass clothes or dress up as elderly people, carry a cane or purse, wear a hat.  The kids: dress as you would for school--look like a kid! Judges-- I will supply your black robe. 

The morning play is at 10:30. The afternoon is at 2:15. I am sorry to do it that way, but I didn't want to interrupt their social studies and science classes.  I hope to see many of you there! The play is only about 10 minutes...so it doesn't take long. After the 2:15 show, the kids will come back to the room and enjoy the pink cake that is part of our play. 

Math--They will take an End-of-the Year test today. I decided to save Friday morning for the final practices of the play. 


Tuesday, May 27 is a full day. The field day activities will be in the afternoon. Those should begin around 12:45.  5th graders should wear tennis shoes, no sandals. There will be a closing  and final prayer in the gym around 2:30. You are more than welcome to come to that. The kids will come back to the room to get their bags. It's okay if you take them after that, if you are planning on being here.  They will need a sack lunch and drink on that day.  In the morning, they will clean out their desks. There just isn't time on Friday with the play. They need to have a book bag with them on Tuesday for that purpose. 

Just closing out my blog with a thank you! Thank you for the support this year. It was a tough year for sure with losing T.J. I am grateful that I could grieve with your children throughout the year.  Beyond that, I had a great time getting to teach your children. They will always hold a special place in my heart, long after they leave STM. They are 21 awesome individuals! I know they will do well in middle school and do amazing things in high school. I can't wait to see what they accomplish! Thank you for entrusting them to my care for the last year. That means more than I can say. They are my family, and I do not look forward to saying good-bye on Tuesday.

 I hope everyone has a safe and fun summer! I will be leaving at the end of the month to head to Doon to be with my mom. We are also going to Butler, PA for my nephew's graduation from high school. 
God Bless you and your family, Miss Surma

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Dear Parents, I hope you are having a great week! Wow! The days seem so busy and so few are left! I am posting this tonight since we have the field trip tomorrow. 

Language Arts- This week they will be testing over their last story. Next week they will have their Unit 6 test as well.  The play is on for next Friday. This is a play from our old series that I have done for many years. I am going to see how it goes trying to squeeze that in as well as a unit test. I have to do 2 plays due to our large class. Your children will let you know when they perform. They will do tryouts on Friday afternoon with me and Mrs. Mitchell. I make no promises on who gets what role. 

They will be needing costumes for their roles. I will explain to them what to wear. This is stuff they can find in their own closet or maybe in yours! I don't want anyone going out to buy them. I will be needing some fake/toy food--anything that looks like cupcakes, pies, cookies, breads,etc. We will be creating our bakery from that. I will also need a gavel or plastic toy hammer for the judge. I will talk to the kids about it too. 

Math-- They did a good  job on their tests. We are working on adding and subtracting fractions now. We won't finish this chapter, but we will work every day. 

Religion-- They will take their final religion test on Friday of this week. Next week, I will be using that time for play practice. 

Drivers--Thank you for helping out on Thursday! I hope you enjoy  the day! I hope we stay dry! 

Mass- The 1st and 5th graders did an outstanding job at mass today! I was so proud of them! Mrs. Levine loved the extra help from them! 

Lap-a-Thon- Congrats to Colby and Morgan for getting 1st and 2nd place for the most laps. Congrats to Matt for raising the most money in the 5th grade


Next week will be my final letter of the year. I cannot believe our time together is nearly over. Have a great weekend!!! God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Dear Parents,
I hope you are all having a great week! I forgot how busy the month of May gets to be! WOW!

On Wednesday, I sent home the permission slip needed before our trip on next Thursday. There was also attached the policy about cell phones on the trip. I hope you took time to read through it. I need the forms filled out and returned by Monday. Thanks!

Next week Tuesday will be the band concert for the 5th graders. It is at STM.

Language Arts-- Book Reports Due Friday! They can bring in their report/poster/timeline in the classroom in the morning along with their costumes! I can't wait to see what they have learned! Next week will be our last story in this unit. That means the final full week of school will be the Unit 6 test. 

Math-- They will test over this chapter on Friday. Next week we will begin working on adding and subtracting fractions. 

Middle School Day- I think they had a great time with the 7th graders on Wednesday and getting a preview of what middle school will be like next year. I enjoy the day too, but it is  a little bittersweet because it means I have to let them go. That's just never my favorite part of watching them grow. 

Mass- Their final mass is next Wednesday with the 1st graders. Due to such large classes, not everyone will get a job. The 5th graders that don't have a part in the mass will have the responsibility of sitting with a first grader during the mass. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Confirmation is this weekend at Holy Spirit. I am looking forward to that since I was asked to be a sponsor of one of the students. 
God Bless, Miss Surma


Thursday, May 1, 2014

Hello Parents,

Substitutes: I am gone this Friday in the afternoon only and I will be gone on Monday. I am taking Mom home to Doon. I am spending a little extra time with her because I won't be able to see her over Mother's Day weekend. There will be subs for those days.

Recipes-- The recipes are due today. If you are still planning on putting something in, contact the office. 

PTO Gear- Orders are due on Friday. Please make sure to get them in if you are interested. 

Language Arts- This week we read a story about discovering fossils in the U.S.A. We also read a story about these tar pits that animals ended up dying in because they thought it was water and then got stuck in them. Scientists have been finding their fossils in them. Iowa seems to have had quite a few fossil discoveries according to the map in our book. Lily even brought in the fossil of a tooth that her dad found while hunting! It was very cool. 

Math- This week they have been learning how to compare fractions using fraction strips and by finding a common denominator. Now they method they learned with mixed numbers may not be familiar to you because it wasn't to me either. I had been taught to turn it into an improper fraction first, which is still good. The book showed students to just remove the whole number for a short time and only work with the fraction part. In the end, we just added the whole number back on.  To me, either way works.  I did show them the "old" way on Wednesday. Some thought it easier, but others did not. The great thing is..both ways work. It just may cause us adults to have to get out of our comfort zone and try something new. 

Book Report-- Just a little over a week before they are due! Next week I am planning on getting our LA story done by Thursday. That means their spelling posttest and the test over the story will be on Thursday, May 8. That leaves me all of May 9 to have them present their report. They probably won't get a grade that day. I usually use the weekend to really go over it. 

Field Trip- The Iowa Children's Water Festival is a trip for just 5th graders that UNI puts on every year at DMACC. We will have a guide that day that takes us to workshops around the campus. Each workshop or game will have something to do with animals, plants, or water. Their is a lot of walking, so I recommend tennis shoes! It happens rain or shine! I have been there on very hot days and very cold and rainy days. Dress appropriately! We usually eat outside too. They supply the lunch. The kids will choose some kind of sandwich (usually it's ham or turkey). They will get chips, an apple, and some kind of cookie. They put condiments like mayo and mustard packets in their sacks. They will get water to drink, of course. Drivers, you will eat with us too! The last 2 years, they've given us reusable water bottles and supplied fill-up stations around campus. It's a fun day with lots to learn! Thank you to my drivers!!! I will be sending home permission forms next week. 
Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma

Friday, April 25, 2014

I have enough drivers now for our field trip on May 15. Thank YOU!!!!
Hello Parents! I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter! I had a great time in Waterloo with my family! 



Math- This week they have done quite a bit with fractions. They learned about recognizing equivalent fractions in pictures. They also learned how to create equivalent fractions using multiplication and division. This led them to work on finding the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) with 2 numbers. This will lead them to work on simplifying fractions soon. 

Language Arts- The story this week was about a boy named Ruben and his family on a trip to the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, Colorado. Ruben likes to solve mysteries. He figured his goal was to find out why the Puebloan people left this area. He also had a couple of other mysteries to solve that revolved around his sister, a pen, and his notebook. We also read a short story called 
"Cave of the Crystals". This cave is in Mexico and has crystals that have are 36-foot and took hundreds of thousands of years to get that big. Both stories were pretty interesting to me. The spelling list is more challenging this week. Many will need to study for Friday's test. This week they focused on suffixes, but the words are more difficult. 

Religion- They finished the movie on Wednesday. We will get back to our chapter now. I probably won't test them over this chapter because of the break we took to watch the movie. 

Have a great weekend! I am off to Waterloo again for my niece's First Communion. 
God Bless, Miss Surma

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

I just realized that tomorrow, Wednesday, is a 2 hour early out!!! I missed that on the calendar! 

Friday, April 18, 2014

Your kids did an outstanding job today cleaning up the school grounds. The 5th graders took care of the fence line in the alley and around to Father's house. Oh my!!! There were so many leaves!!! Way to go, 5th graders!!!!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Dear Parents,  Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a great week! 

Clean-Up Day- Tomorrow (Friday) we will be taking the kids outside to clean the school grounds. They can wear sweatpants if they wish. We'd like them to bring rakes and work gloves if they have them. Please make sure your family's name is on the rake. 

Lap-A-Thon- is set for April 24. I put the fundraising envelope in your child's folder a couple of weeks ago. Those need to be returned by Friday, April 24. Please return them even if your child didn't raise any money.  They should wear shorts or sweatpants that day for the run. I told them they can have their headphones that time to listen to music while they run or walk. They should also have a water bottle. I do sometimes suggest a second pair of shoes because sometimes the ones they run/walk in get muddy. 


Math- This week they learned to plot fractions on a number line that they had to create. They also worked on identifying whether a story problem had extra or missing information before they solved it. We are going to begin working on equivalent fractions on Friday. 

Language Arts- This week's story was a nonfiction piece about how animals travel. We learned that bats work off of echoes. They can tell how fat or juicy an insect is based on the echo! Their spelling words have to deal with the prefixes -con, -com, pre, and -pro.

Religion- We will be celebrating the Seder Meal today with the school.The 5th graders help set that up every year! This is one of my favorite activities that we do in our school. I love all of us getting together to share this meal and remembering what the Jews went through and what Jesus did for us.  On Friday, we will do the Stations of the Cross in the chapel. There will also be a short prayer service at the end of the day. 

I hope everyone has a BLESSED Easter! My mom and I are heading to Waterloo to celebrate it with my brother and sister and their families. Another sister of mine is driving in from PA to be there too. It should be a busy, but fun weekend! 
God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hello Parents, 
I hope you are all having a great week! I like the weather much better this week! We should be finishing up with Iowa Assessments today! The kids did a great job of staying focused during the testing. We should get results back in May. I will let you know.

Emails-- I know the school has been having issues and I thought I was exempt. I am not. I know I have sent out some emails--to family and they haven't received them. If you are emailing me and I am not responding, please let me know!!! Write a note in your child's assignment book. I will look into it! 

"The Video" will be watched this Friday!!!!! Some of them are nervous about it. I keep telling them that they will be fine and it will be painless. :)

Religion-They were able to go to reconciliation on Tuesday. Next week during religion I try to focus on it being Holy Week. We will go to the chapel on Good Friday and pray the Stations of the Cross...to remind them of the long walk he took that day and what how he sacrificed his life for us. As a school we will be taking part in the Seder Meal on Thursday. I will be showing the 5th graders the movie The Ten Commandments.  This also shows them how the Jews were freed and celebrated with the Seder Meal before their journey in the desert. 

Math-- We are working on fractions. This week we spent time changing improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa. They also used Benchmark fractions to estimate about how much of a shape was colored in. We used common fractions like 1/4, 1/2,1/3, 2/3, 3/4 and 1 whole. 

Language Arts- Next week we will be back to a normal routine. They will have a spelling test on Monday and again on Friday. They will still have vocabulary words. Their book will be more like a magazine. It has a lot of pictures with short stories or articles. It just depends on the topic. This week they are working in groups writing a story about how their character(s) came to school to discover their teacher is missing! The ones I have read are very cute. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am going to go home to Doon to pick up my mom. She is going to stay with me for the next 3 weeks so that she can go to Waterloo for Easter and a First Communion later this month! Enjoy the nice weather!
God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Hello Parents, 
I hope you are having a nice week! Hopefully those warm temperatures will make a return!  

Math- I was pretty pleased with the test scores overall. I promised them at the beginning of chapter 3 that by the time we were done, they would all know how to divide! I think they proved that. Some areas are still tricky, but I think part of that is making sure we are really paying attention to our work and knowing our facts. During their free time, some are using a deck of cards and playing Multiplication War--just like the War card game, but they have to multiply the two cards correctly before getting to keep them. We also started our fractions chapter with a bag of Skittles on Tuesday. They were writing fractions based on the number in their bag and the colors. I think the first thing is to remember the difference between your numerator and denominator. 

Language Arts- They are taking their unit test this week. I did assign their next book report. Some are still looking for books to read. They don't seem to like what the library has to offer, so they will need to look elsewhere. They NEED a book by next Wednesday. I just want to make sure they have plenty of time to read the book and take notes before they create their project. I gave them a handout with their 3 choices. These are due May 9, 2014. 

Religion- We are focusing on the sacrament of reconciliation right now. This is actually perfect timing because next week they will get the chance to go to reconciliation with Fr. Halbur. 

Iowa Assessments starts on Monday. Some suggestions to make it easier on your child...get a good night's sleep, eat a good breakfast, and breathe! :) They will take some breaks throughout the morning. They won't miss their specials. We will only test in the mornings. Our afternoon schedules will be mixed up, so they will have to be flexible. I am still going to try and get some math and religion in. We will also do some switching so they can still get in science and social studies too, but it won't be every day. 

Young Writer's Conference- Wednesday, April 9, 2014. We won't be testing at all on Wednesday. It is also an early out. Those 3 students attending the conference will need to get their homework on Tuesday. They will need a sack lunch and drink on Wednesday as well. Mrs. Sickels will be sending a letter and permission slip. 

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The following 5th graders will be attending this year's Young Writer's Conference at Graceland in Lamoni: Samantha Dunphy, Jackson Kinsella, and Katelyn Adair. Mrs. Sickels will be taking them this year. I am sure she will be sending you more information soon. They will be gone on Wednesday, April 9 2014. That is an early out for the school, but these kids will be home later that afternoon. They will need a sack lunch and drink that day! It's usually a fun day!
Hello Parents, 
I hope everyone had a great time on spring break! I enjoyed my time in Doon with my mom and family.  Now we have about 9 weeks of school left! My mom told me, "You have a lot to do in a little amount of time!" YES!!!!!

Language Arts- This week are reading Lewis and Clark. It is a historical nonfiction piece. Their story comes from the journal they wrote during their trip. In the end they traveled 8,000 miles! Amazing! I think we all agreed that we weren't sure if we could've handled those conditions. We are also working on contractions in grammar. The spelling list is about adding suffixes. Next week we will be working on the unit test. I will also discuss the final book report project next week. 

Dollars for Scholars- They are being given the opportunity again to write to win the savings bond. They will start this today with me. This is a project I like to have them work on at school. We brainstorm our given topic first looking for possible things to include in the essay. 

Math- They will be testing over this chapter on Friday. On Monday, we will do any needed corrections. I believe on Tuesday we will begin the chapter on fractions. If you're helping your child study for the test, they best thing would be to focus on dividing decimals by a two digit number. If they are dividing money, they need to remember to round their answer to the nearest hundredth or penny. The biggest problems I see right now are that they may not copy the problem down correctly, their multiplying is off, or when they subtract they get too big of a remainder and then just keep going. When it comes to the test, I won't be able to tell them where their mistake is, but I will have them walk me through the work to see if they find their own error. 

Today and Friday are the first two days of raising money for the seminary in Nigeria. They were given a paper on Wednesday with the items and prices. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! It sounds like Sunday's temperatures are going to be wonderful!!! Next time you stop at school, make sure to check out the new alley street sign. Father Halbur blessed it as mass and it was hung shortly after. 

God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Hello Parents! Well, I would say the auction was a success last Saturday! The 5th grade basket was bought 9 times making a total of $4900! It was simply amazing to watch it get bought and sold so many times. I was in complete awe!! I think Mrs. Sickels was too! We both shed some tears that night. It was an emotional, but giving night! Thank you to everyone!

Language Arts- This week we read a story called Vaqueros: America's First Cowboys. It showed us the history of the cowboy. It all stems back to Christopher Columbus! We had to work on pronouncing some Spanish words. Thank goodness for pronunciation keys! We even learned where the term "buckaroo" came from--do you know??? When Americans tried to say "Vaqueros", it came out "bukera". Later it became buckaroo. I didn't know that! In grammar we are working on using commonly confused words such as: can/may, effect/affect, their, there,they're, lie/lay and more! They have been really trying to say, "May I go to the bathroom?" instead of  "Can I go to the bathroom?"  We also worked on proverbs and adages again. I am afraid this might be a dying concept. Some had never heard the saying: People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. 
 I do plan on covering another story next week even though we have only 4 days. That means there will be a spelling test and a test over the story on Thursday before break. I am hoping it will turn out better than our Christmas tests, but I want to keep them focused as much as I can before break.

Mass-- We have our mass next week Wednesday! You are more than welcome to join us!

Math- This week they are working on dividing larger numbers as well as having zeroes in their quotient. Today we are working on dividing decimals. This will add an interesting twist I am sure. The hardest part for them this week seems to be remembering there could be another number they have to bring down before they can call it finished! They also need to pay attention to the number they get after they do their subtraction. Some of the remainders are too big!

Religion- They are testing today over Chapter 6. This chapter focused on the Sacraments of Christian Initiation and their symbols. We will be looking at Lent next!

Make sure you check out your conference schedule so you remember what day and what time you will be visiting with me! There will be a book fair during conferences as well. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead! Have a good weekend!
God Bless, Miss Surma

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Hi Parents, Well, it is definitely still winter! Ugh! I am ready for spring to arrive at any time!

Math- This week we really stepped into dividing larger numbers by double digits. It always amazes me how adding one more number to their dividend throws them off. They want to be done with a single digit answer and sometimes it has three! :) Today I am slowing it down some more so that  I can work with some kids on corrections. While I am doing that the others are using the marker boards and working in small groups. Each group has a "teacher" who assigns the problem for everyone to solve, including the teacher. Once all are correct, the "teacher" role moves to someone else in the group. It is still making them work, but adding a little lightness after the last couple of days!

Language Arts- Last week's scores were great! I didn't make copies of them. I can show you them at conferences. I hope the same this week! This week they read a story about an Indian girl who is walking home and comes upon two bear cubs and their mom! It is historical fiction, but it was a cute story. We are working on present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect verbs in grammar. We also did some work on Wednesday looking up words in the dictionary and finding a synonym for it in a thesaurus. They really had to focus on the way the words was used in the sentence and not just what they thought it means.

Religion- They did super on their tests. Again, that is something I will show you at conferences. Next week Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. We will be receiving ashes at mass. This is also the beginning of Lent. I will have the students be thinking over the weekend of what they want to do this Lenten season. Will they give something up or will they work on doing some kind of deed each week?

PE- I taped them on Monday dancing to Footloose! I sent a clip to Mr. Walsh. He is going to put it up on the Facebook sight. It is fun to watch them!!!

Auction-- Thanks again for the donations! Chris sent me a picture of our basket!! It looks GREAT!  I hope many of you will be able to attend the fun on Saturday!

We are sending home a Conference Survey to all families. We have to get them back--filled out or not by Tuesday. It will be in your child's folder. Just have them return it to me by Tuesday. Thanks!

Have a great weekend! Maybe I will see you at the auction! God Bless, Miss Surma