Since we won't be having school on Tuesday-- we will have our fun Christmas celebration on Monday!!!!
Monday will be Spirit Day! $1 for sweats! They may also wear their Santa hat or reindeer antlers if they have them!
Sack lunch needed! No drinks. Milk is provided.
We will be singing our Christmas carols at 12:30 in the gym.
Afterwards, we will play games in our classroom until it is time to go home. No early out. Regular dismissal time.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!
Our thoughts and prayers will be with the Levine Family as well as the Turner Family during this time of sadness. May God comfort them during this holiday season.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Friday, December 18, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Hello Parents, I am guessing you've heard the news about Kirk Levine. May he rest in peace. As I write this, we don't know the plans for the funeral. Things may change once we know more information. Our prayers continue to go out to the Levine family during this difficult time.
Math-- This week they were learning how to add and subtract decimals using Base 10 blocks. It was a different way, but they enjoyed drawing too. This did help them visualize what happens when we group numbers or have to borrow 10. We will be learning the traditional strategy next. We are about half way through the chapter. They will testing over it at some point when we return from Christmas break.
Reading- We read a story this week about James Forten. It was a biography. He was a free black man during the Revolutionary War time period. He was raised to work on boats mending sails, etc., but he really wanted to join the military. He did just that. He was put on a ship called the Royal Louis. His job was to go below deck and carry up gun powder or ammunition to the men who were manning the cannons. In a battle with the British, his ship surrendered. He was taken to another boat and held as a prisoner. His fear was that the commander would send him to Africa to be sold off as a slave, which was also happening at the time. He did not. He ended up getting married and having kids. He took over the boat business he had worked for as a child and was very successful. He also worked to abolish slavery and fight for the right for women to vote. Personally, I liked the last two stories we read because these were great stories about the men and women who lived during that time and the things they had to get through. They will test over this on Friday. In grammar we worked on commas and semi-colons with items in a series.
Religion-- While we have been focusing on Advent, they have also been leaving little notes and cards around the building for our employees. The card says, "You've been Rack'd!" ( Random Acts of Kindness). We have given them to the 6-8 graders for their great door decorating. This week they delivered some to Mrs. Simmons, our librarian, cooks, PE, and music teachers. The notes are thanking them for their hard work or just wishing them a Merry Christmas!
Last Day Before Break-- Students will need a sack lunch, but no drink. Milk will be provided. We will be in the gym at 12:30 singing Christmas carols. You are welcome to join us! After caroling, I am taking them back to our room for games! If your child has a favorite card game or board game at home, they should bring it school! I have some games for our indoor recesses, but you might have other ones at home! No electronics! This is just board game or card games.
1st Grade Mass- Your kids were such a huge help to me and Mrs. Beardon with the first grade mass!!! They did such a terrific job of helping their 1st grade buddy! I was so proud of them. It nearly brought me to tears a couple of times! You should be proud! They really stepped up!!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year! If you are traveling, please have a safe trip. It doesn't look like it will be a white Christmas, but we will have a full moon!! I will be heading to Doon on the 23rd and will stay with Mom for my break. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! See you in January!
God Bless, Miss Surma
.
Math-- This week they were learning how to add and subtract decimals using Base 10 blocks. It was a different way, but they enjoyed drawing too. This did help them visualize what happens when we group numbers or have to borrow 10. We will be learning the traditional strategy next. We are about half way through the chapter. They will testing over it at some point when we return from Christmas break.
Reading- We read a story this week about James Forten. It was a biography. He was a free black man during the Revolutionary War time period. He was raised to work on boats mending sails, etc., but he really wanted to join the military. He did just that. He was put on a ship called the Royal Louis. His job was to go below deck and carry up gun powder or ammunition to the men who were manning the cannons. In a battle with the British, his ship surrendered. He was taken to another boat and held as a prisoner. His fear was that the commander would send him to Africa to be sold off as a slave, which was also happening at the time. He did not. He ended up getting married and having kids. He took over the boat business he had worked for as a child and was very successful. He also worked to abolish slavery and fight for the right for women to vote. Personally, I liked the last two stories we read because these were great stories about the men and women who lived during that time and the things they had to get through. They will test over this on Friday. In grammar we worked on commas and semi-colons with items in a series.
Religion-- While we have been focusing on Advent, they have also been leaving little notes and cards around the building for our employees. The card says, "You've been Rack'd!" ( Random Acts of Kindness). We have given them to the 6-8 graders for their great door decorating. This week they delivered some to Mrs. Simmons, our librarian, cooks, PE, and music teachers. The notes are thanking them for their hard work or just wishing them a Merry Christmas!
Last Day Before Break-- Students will need a sack lunch, but no drink. Milk will be provided. We will be in the gym at 12:30 singing Christmas carols. You are welcome to join us! After caroling, I am taking them back to our room for games! If your child has a favorite card game or board game at home, they should bring it school! I have some games for our indoor recesses, but you might have other ones at home! No electronics! This is just board game or card games.
1st Grade Mass- Your kids were such a huge help to me and Mrs. Beardon with the first grade mass!!! They did such a terrific job of helping their 1st grade buddy! I was so proud of them. It nearly brought me to tears a couple of times! You should be proud! They really stepped up!!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year! If you are traveling, please have a safe trip. It doesn't look like it will be a white Christmas, but we will have a full moon!! I will be heading to Doon on the 23rd and will stay with Mom for my break. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! See you in January!
God Bless, Miss Surma
.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! The weather is certainly great for December!
Religion- The 5th graders are working on the liturgical calendar. On Monday we discussed the different parts of the year the church recognizes as well as the colors and symbols that go with each. We are also discussing the Advent season.
Mrs. Levine asked for my help with the 1st grade mass next week. I also nominated the 5th graders to help! They are very excited to help out Mrs. Levine and her students. I am pairing the 5th graders with a 1st grader. They will help them during mass with the microphone,etc. We will also be sitting with them. The first grade class is having a reception afterwards for their parents and grandparents. Some of the 5th graders will be working there too. They will help with the serving of the beverages and snacks. This is a great learning opportunity for them to see how we help others in times of need. You are always welcome to attend!
Math- We started working on our decimals this week. They started with learning about the thousandths. They have also learned about how to write decimals in standard, written, and expanded form. They also learned about rounding decimals to the nearest whole number, tenths, and hundredths. We have begun adding and subtracting decimals by using Base 10 blocks. This also shows them how they can regroup their hundredths into tenths or their tenths into ones. They have really caught on quickly! They are doing a great job!
Reading- This week they read the story of Molly Pitcher. She was a woman who also helped during the Revolutionary War. She worked alongside her husband on the battlefield. She found a pitcher and brought the men water to help them during the battle. The men would call out to her, "Molly--pitcher!" She also helped fire a cannon when another man had been injured by the gunfire. This story also described the conditions the soldiers had to live with during the winter. They also learned how the British had a very formal way of dressing for battle and the actual fighting, but that the American men didn't always follow those ways due to the extreme heat in their summer battles. We also discussed how different the battles were fought compared to today. I heard many of them say they really liked the story. Their grammar this week is dealing with the tenses of verbs--past, present, and future. We discussed regular and irregular verbs. Irregular verbs are verbs that change their spelling when they move from different tenses. Write to wrote to has written or fly to flew to have flown would be examples of irregular verbs. They were also doing more work with synonyms.
This week's test will be the 3rd week of this unit, that means they will have a cold read and 10 more questions to answer.
Music program-- I know some of the kids won't be there on Sunday. Please make sure you write a note, call , or email Mrs. Mullin to let her know. I will see the kids on Sunday at the high school! We will be going on Friday to practice.
Thank you for the help with the St. Nicholas Project as well as the Noisy Change Collection and the Door Contest. I know that seems like you are having to put forth extra money or your kids are, but all three things were great causes. I think it is a great lesson for them to remember others during this Advent Season.
I have been moving slowly this week after work to my new apartment, but the big stuff will happen this weekend. I hope you have a great weekend! See you on Sunday for the Christmas program!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Religion- The 5th graders are working on the liturgical calendar. On Monday we discussed the different parts of the year the church recognizes as well as the colors and symbols that go with each. We are also discussing the Advent season.
Mrs. Levine asked for my help with the 1st grade mass next week. I also nominated the 5th graders to help! They are very excited to help out Mrs. Levine and her students. I am pairing the 5th graders with a 1st grader. They will help them during mass with the microphone,etc. We will also be sitting with them. The first grade class is having a reception afterwards for their parents and grandparents. Some of the 5th graders will be working there too. They will help with the serving of the beverages and snacks. This is a great learning opportunity for them to see how we help others in times of need. You are always welcome to attend!
Math- We started working on our decimals this week. They started with learning about the thousandths. They have also learned about how to write decimals in standard, written, and expanded form. They also learned about rounding decimals to the nearest whole number, tenths, and hundredths. We have begun adding and subtracting decimals by using Base 10 blocks. This also shows them how they can regroup their hundredths into tenths or their tenths into ones. They have really caught on quickly! They are doing a great job!
Reading- This week they read the story of Molly Pitcher. She was a woman who also helped during the Revolutionary War. She worked alongside her husband on the battlefield. She found a pitcher and brought the men water to help them during the battle. The men would call out to her, "Molly--pitcher!" She also helped fire a cannon when another man had been injured by the gunfire. This story also described the conditions the soldiers had to live with during the winter. They also learned how the British had a very formal way of dressing for battle and the actual fighting, but that the American men didn't always follow those ways due to the extreme heat in their summer battles. We also discussed how different the battles were fought compared to today. I heard many of them say they really liked the story. Their grammar this week is dealing with the tenses of verbs--past, present, and future. We discussed regular and irregular verbs. Irregular verbs are verbs that change their spelling when they move from different tenses. Write to wrote to has written or fly to flew to have flown would be examples of irregular verbs. They were also doing more work with synonyms.
This week's test will be the 3rd week of this unit, that means they will have a cold read and 10 more questions to answer.
Music program-- I know some of the kids won't be there on Sunday. Please make sure you write a note, call , or email Mrs. Mullin to let her know. I will see the kids on Sunday at the high school! We will be going on Friday to practice.
Thank you for the help with the St. Nicholas Project as well as the Noisy Change Collection and the Door Contest. I know that seems like you are having to put forth extra money or your kids are, but all three things were great causes. I think it is a great lesson for them to remember others during this Advent Season.
I have been moving slowly this week after work to my new apartment, but the big stuff will happen this weekend. I hope you have a great weekend! See you on Sunday for the Christmas program!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Hello Parents, Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! I had a great time in Doon and was able to put up my mom's Christmas tree for her along with some decorations outside! They 16 inches of snow they had the weekend before was pretty much gone. It looks like they got another round this past Monday!
Math- I was really pleased with the tests over division. I know there some correcting, but the mistakes came mostly from not paying attention to or misunderstanding what they were asking them to find for the answer. We have moved on to decimals! This can be confusing. They started right away with thousandths, but I think I may need to do some background work to understand the place value names better. I try to relate decimals most often to money, but we did talk about how athletes may need to use decimals when they measure their event in time. One of the hardest things to understand is that the more you work to the right of the decimal, the lesser the value. Thousandths is much different than thousands.
Reading- This week their story was a narrative nonfiction story based on King George and his reign during the Revolutionary War. Through our readings we did discuss that he thought of himself as a father to the Americans. He considered them his disobedient children. We also discussed that every time he made a decision, the American people would fight back in some way. He couldn't seem to understand that because he thought he was a "good king". He liked the perks of being a king, but at the same time wanted to be treated normally. We also went through the story and listed some of the facts and opinions we found in it. This was a key skill for this story. We had to discuss how we can prove facts, but opinions are things we feel or think. We can't look those things up in a book or online. In grammar, they were learning the tenses of verbs: present, past, and future. We also discussed how you need to make sure that your verb tense stays the same. For example, you don't want a future tense verb being used when you are talking about something you did yesterday. Another vocabulary skill that we worked on this week was the use of figurative language. We focused on similes, metaphors, and idioms. Similes compare two different things using the words like or as. Metaphors also compare two different things, but they usually say that one thing is the other. Idioms are sentences or phrases that we can't take literally. It's raining cats and dogs. We went over quite a few of them and discussed what they meant. He bought the farm was probably the most surprising to them! On Thursday, they will get their own idiom and then they will have to draw and color a picture to match the idiom. In this case, they will draw what it would mean "literally".
The new Book-It Calendars for December have been handed out. The goal increased to 700 minutes. I told them that this can be a hard hit month with Christmas break. I suggested they really focus their reading before break if they think they won't do much reading over the break. These calendars will be due when they get back from Christmas.
Religion- We are wrapping up a chapter this week. I don't think I will be testing them over this one because of our break from Thanksgiving. This chapter did focus on the sacrament of baptism. They had the story of John the Baptist baptising Jesus. They also heard the story of Nicodemus and his discussion with Jesus about receiving the sacrament of baptism before going to the Kingdom. Our next chapter will be covering the liturgical calendar and the Advent Season.
Mass- Next Tuesday we will have mass at school because it is a Holy Day of Obligation. We will NOT have mass on Wednesday. There will be another opportunity to donate money to our adopted families as well at mass. We will do another noisy collection on Tuesday. They will need to dress up on Tuesday!
Geography Bee- The 2nd round will take place at 9:15 on Wednesday.
Congrats to Adam and Cassie Randall and the birth of their daughter, Mosley Ann! We are very happy for you!
Our prayers continue to go out towards Ann and Kirk Levine and their family.
Shout out to the 4th and 5th graders- they helped set up the tables and chairs for our pizza lunch on Monday for TJ and Nate Frey. They were a BIG help!!!
Just to let you know in case your child says something, I am moving next week, but only to a different apartment in town. I am not moving out of Creston. :) Have a great weekend! I heard 50s were in the forecast!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Math- I was really pleased with the tests over division. I know there some correcting, but the mistakes came mostly from not paying attention to or misunderstanding what they were asking them to find for the answer. We have moved on to decimals! This can be confusing. They started right away with thousandths, but I think I may need to do some background work to understand the place value names better. I try to relate decimals most often to money, but we did talk about how athletes may need to use decimals when they measure their event in time. One of the hardest things to understand is that the more you work to the right of the decimal, the lesser the value. Thousandths is much different than thousands.
Reading- This week their story was a narrative nonfiction story based on King George and his reign during the Revolutionary War. Through our readings we did discuss that he thought of himself as a father to the Americans. He considered them his disobedient children. We also discussed that every time he made a decision, the American people would fight back in some way. He couldn't seem to understand that because he thought he was a "good king". He liked the perks of being a king, but at the same time wanted to be treated normally. We also went through the story and listed some of the facts and opinions we found in it. This was a key skill for this story. We had to discuss how we can prove facts, but opinions are things we feel or think. We can't look those things up in a book or online. In grammar, they were learning the tenses of verbs: present, past, and future. We also discussed how you need to make sure that your verb tense stays the same. For example, you don't want a future tense verb being used when you are talking about something you did yesterday. Another vocabulary skill that we worked on this week was the use of figurative language. We focused on similes, metaphors, and idioms. Similes compare two different things using the words like or as. Metaphors also compare two different things, but they usually say that one thing is the other. Idioms are sentences or phrases that we can't take literally. It's raining cats and dogs. We went over quite a few of them and discussed what they meant. He bought the farm was probably the most surprising to them! On Thursday, they will get their own idiom and then they will have to draw and color a picture to match the idiom. In this case, they will draw what it would mean "literally".
The new Book-It Calendars for December have been handed out. The goal increased to 700 minutes. I told them that this can be a hard hit month with Christmas break. I suggested they really focus their reading before break if they think they won't do much reading over the break. These calendars will be due when they get back from Christmas.
Religion- We are wrapping up a chapter this week. I don't think I will be testing them over this one because of our break from Thanksgiving. This chapter did focus on the sacrament of baptism. They had the story of John the Baptist baptising Jesus. They also heard the story of Nicodemus and his discussion with Jesus about receiving the sacrament of baptism before going to the Kingdom. Our next chapter will be covering the liturgical calendar and the Advent Season.
Mass- Next Tuesday we will have mass at school because it is a Holy Day of Obligation. We will NOT have mass on Wednesday. There will be another opportunity to donate money to our adopted families as well at mass. We will do another noisy collection on Tuesday. They will need to dress up on Tuesday!
Geography Bee- The 2nd round will take place at 9:15 on Wednesday.
Congrats to Adam and Cassie Randall and the birth of their daughter, Mosley Ann! We are very happy for you!
Our prayers continue to go out towards Ann and Kirk Levine and their family.
Shout out to the 4th and 5th graders- they helped set up the tables and chairs for our pizza lunch on Monday for TJ and Nate Frey. They were a BIG help!!!
Just to let you know in case your child says something, I am moving next week, but only to a different apartment in town. I am not moving out of Creston. :) Have a great weekend! I heard 50s were in the forecast!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are having a good week! I can't believe that we are already at Thanksgiving! Where is our time going??? I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving next week!
I will be heading to Doon with my mom. It has been great having her here! We even got some of her Christmas shopping done!
Religion- In your child's folder is a Random Acts of Kindness calendar. This is an Advent Calendar for them to use during the month of December. I know some of the things probably can't be done, but it's always good to just think about what we can do in this month for others besides the gifts we need to buy for our loved ones. These can make someone's day just a little brighter!
Congrats to our Fire Prevention poster winners! 1st Place- Keely
2nd Place-Nevaeh and 3rd Place- Reese. Keely's poster along with the winners from 3rd and 4th grade were sent to Des Moines for the state competition.
Reading- In your child's folder you will find their scores for Unit 2 test. Scores were up overall!!! I did talk to them about some of their choices that were incorrect. I reminded them that they had to go back and look for context clues in the sentences when they want you to define a word. If it is something factual, go back to the story and find it! If they are asking you to figure out something...you need to think about everything you learned and then come up with your reasoning for what happened. On the Edit and Revise section, the most missed were dealing with punctuating sentences or even spelling.
They will start a new story on Thursday and that will mean a spelling test too. They will take the posttest and test over the story next Tuesday. I had forgotten that they will be participating in the Geography Bee after mass next week. This will be the first round.
Math-- We will be finishing up our math chapter this week. They will test on Monday over this chapter. We will start fresh after Thanksgiving.
Prayer Service-- On Friday we are having a Red, White, and/or Blue Day! This is to show our support for those who died and those injured in Paris last Friday. We are also just showing our support for all the cities and countries are dealing with political issues or terrorist attacks. We will have a school wide prayer service for peace at 2:40 p.m. We are telling the kids they can wear red, white, and/or blue on Friday. I told the 5th graders that this doesn't mean sweats or crazy hair or painting our faces. A pair of jeans and a shirt or sweatshirt will do!
Muffins with Mom-- What a GREAT turnout! We hope you were able to enjoy your breakfast with your children! Dads--not to worry! There will be a Donuts with Dad in February.
Thank you to some of my kiddos this week! I had three boys who took it upon themselves to organize the bookshelves in my room. They arranged all the books by categories! There is a whole shelf for "girl books". :) Thank you Kyle, Nolan, and Cade!!! You rock!
Another thank you to George, Patrick, and Maddie! George cleaned up the game cupboard (indoor recess games)for me! Patrick and Maddie sorted through 2 decks of cards to make one complete deck! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :)
Early Out- We are now getting out 2 hours early on Wednesday!!!Plan accordingly! I won't be putting out a blog next week! I hope you have a great weekend and a very Happy Thanksgiving next week! I will be taking Mom back to Doon. We will be celebrating with my sister and her family in Sioux Falls. Safe travels for everyone!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
I will be heading to Doon with my mom. It has been great having her here! We even got some of her Christmas shopping done!
Religion- In your child's folder is a Random Acts of Kindness calendar. This is an Advent Calendar for them to use during the month of December. I know some of the things probably can't be done, but it's always good to just think about what we can do in this month for others besides the gifts we need to buy for our loved ones. These can make someone's day just a little brighter!
Congrats to our Fire Prevention poster winners! 1st Place- Keely
2nd Place-Nevaeh and 3rd Place- Reese. Keely's poster along with the winners from 3rd and 4th grade were sent to Des Moines for the state competition.
Reading- In your child's folder you will find their scores for Unit 2 test. Scores were up overall!!! I did talk to them about some of their choices that were incorrect. I reminded them that they had to go back and look for context clues in the sentences when they want you to define a word. If it is something factual, go back to the story and find it! If they are asking you to figure out something...you need to think about everything you learned and then come up with your reasoning for what happened. On the Edit and Revise section, the most missed were dealing with punctuating sentences or even spelling.
They will start a new story on Thursday and that will mean a spelling test too. They will take the posttest and test over the story next Tuesday. I had forgotten that they will be participating in the Geography Bee after mass next week. This will be the first round.
Math-- We will be finishing up our math chapter this week. They will test on Monday over this chapter. We will start fresh after Thanksgiving.
Prayer Service-- On Friday we are having a Red, White, and/or Blue Day! This is to show our support for those who died and those injured in Paris last Friday. We are also just showing our support for all the cities and countries are dealing with political issues or terrorist attacks. We will have a school wide prayer service for peace at 2:40 p.m. We are telling the kids they can wear red, white, and/or blue on Friday. I told the 5th graders that this doesn't mean sweats or crazy hair or painting our faces. A pair of jeans and a shirt or sweatshirt will do!
Muffins with Mom-- What a GREAT turnout! We hope you were able to enjoy your breakfast with your children! Dads--not to worry! There will be a Donuts with Dad in February.
Thank you to some of my kiddos this week! I had three boys who took it upon themselves to organize the bookshelves in my room. They arranged all the books by categories! There is a whole shelf for "girl books". :) Thank you Kyle, Nolan, and Cade!!! You rock!
Another thank you to George, Patrick, and Maddie! George cleaned up the game cupboard (indoor recess games)for me! Patrick and Maddie sorted through 2 decks of cards to make one complete deck! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :)
Early Out- We are now getting out 2 hours early on Wednesday!!!Plan accordingly! I won't be putting out a blog next week! I hope you have a great weekend and a very Happy Thanksgiving next week! I will be taking Mom back to Doon. We will be celebrating with my sister and her family in Sioux Falls. Safe travels for everyone!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you were able to enjoy your 3 day weekend! My mom and I had a great time in Waterloo visiting my sister and brother!
Reading- This week is the final story in this unit. They are reading a nonfiction piece called Cougars. It is an interesting story! The extra vocabulary lesson this week dealt with choosing synonyms that were stronger, weaker, or similar to the actual word. We discussed how we need to use our context clues to figure out what it means and then choose a word that would be similar. Sometimes we want that stronger word to be used because it gives a better description or a better picture as we are reading it. Our grammar this week is focusing on using quotation marks with direct quotes or when you are quoting from a text.
They will have a unit test starting on Monday of this next week. It actually works out timing wise. They should be done testing on Thursday. On Friday, I will start a new story and spelling. I am doing that because we will only 3 days the following week due to Thanksgiving. This will give me 4 days to cover a new story. So that means next Friday they will have a spelling pretest and its posttest will be on Wednesday the following week.
Book Reports are due this Friday
Math-- We started our week with estimating division quotients. We don't round with division, but instead use compatible numbers. For example, if I am dividing 1356 by 27, I would round 27 to the nearest ten... which would be 30. Then I need to look at the dividend and I tell the kids to look at the first two digits...1356. I ask myself, "Okay, what number is close to 13 that is divisible by 3?" "I can then divide 1200 by 30 or 1500 by 30 because 12 and 15 are both divisible by 3." I just need to add my zeroes on.
We also started dividing using the traditional strategy. The mistakes I am seeing so far are either in the multiplication or subtraction. They are also checking their division through multiplication. This is where some problems come up as well because they have multiplied incorrectly or forgotten to add their remainder on. The process is going well. They will get it!!
Religion- They did a great job with our prayer service today! I was very proud of them. We will get back to the book tomorrow! We are finishing up our chapter on the Beatitudes.
Fire Posters-- The 3-5th graders created posters depicting this year's theme. We had the older students come in to vote and choose the top 3 in each grade. 6th graders voted on the 5th graders posters. The first place winner from each grade will then be sent to Des Moines. The local fire department no longer participates in this contest, but we wanted to bring it back! We will announce the winners by Monday for sure!
Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week is the final story in this unit. They are reading a nonfiction piece called Cougars. It is an interesting story! The extra vocabulary lesson this week dealt with choosing synonyms that were stronger, weaker, or similar to the actual word. We discussed how we need to use our context clues to figure out what it means and then choose a word that would be similar. Sometimes we want that stronger word to be used because it gives a better description or a better picture as we are reading it. Our grammar this week is focusing on using quotation marks with direct quotes or when you are quoting from a text.
They will have a unit test starting on Monday of this next week. It actually works out timing wise. They should be done testing on Thursday. On Friday, I will start a new story and spelling. I am doing that because we will only 3 days the following week due to Thanksgiving. This will give me 4 days to cover a new story. So that means next Friday they will have a spelling pretest and its posttest will be on Wednesday the following week.
Book Reports are due this Friday
Math-- We started our week with estimating division quotients. We don't round with division, but instead use compatible numbers. For example, if I am dividing 1356 by 27, I would round 27 to the nearest ten... which would be 30. Then I need to look at the dividend and I tell the kids to look at the first two digits...1356. I ask myself, "Okay, what number is close to 13 that is divisible by 3?" "I can then divide 1200 by 30 or 1500 by 30 because 12 and 15 are both divisible by 3." I just need to add my zeroes on.
We also started dividing using the traditional strategy. The mistakes I am seeing so far are either in the multiplication or subtraction. They are also checking their division through multiplication. This is where some problems come up as well because they have multiplied incorrectly or forgotten to add their remainder on. The process is going well. They will get it!!
Religion- They did a great job with our prayer service today! I was very proud of them. We will get back to the book tomorrow! We are finishing up our chapter on the Beatitudes.
Fire Posters-- The 3-5th graders created posters depicting this year's theme. We had the older students come in to vote and choose the top 3 in each grade. 6th graders voted on the 5th graders posters. The first place winner from each grade will then be sent to Des Moines. The local fire department no longer participates in this contest, but we wanted to bring it back! We will announce the winners by Monday for sure!
Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Well, it is definitely feeling more like fall this week! Perfect weather for trick-or-treating on Saturday!
The October Book-It Calendars are due on Monday. Make sure you sign them first! Even if they don't make the goal, if they have attempted to keep track of their minutes, send it back. I like to see how they are doing. I will give them their new one on Monday. The goal for November will be the same.
Conferences- last week I sent you a link to sign up for your child's conference. Please make sure you do that before November 5. If you are having trouble with that date, email me. We can make other arrangements. It looks like I only need a few more.
Math- This week we started working on division with placing the first digit. The way I taught them is the same way we all grew up learning it. Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down, Repeat. They are dealing with remainders and we have discussed how the remainder can not be equal to or larger than the divisor. On Tuesday, I taught them how to check their division by multiplying the divisor times the quotient and adding the remainder. It was funny how many of them still said, "Did I get it right?" We will be learning other strategies, but the overall one we will use is the strategy above. The next one we cover is one I learned a few years ago in my math class. Division using partial quotients. I really liked because for those kids who struggle with basic facts, this is pretty easy. You multiply by 10s until you can't go any further, then you start your single digits. I will try to send home a hard copy for you to check it out. They still are multiplying and subtracting, but it gets their dividend smaller in bigger chunks! It is pretty cool. Some kids like it, others don't. That's the great thing about math--- there are multiple ways to solve a problem. They just need to find the one that works for them!
Halloween Stories-- They are all typed and attached to their Frankensteins! They will be in the hallway for you to read during conferences.
Reading- This week we read a nonfiction story about the Everglades. A 5th grade class took a field trip to see them. The story really talks about how the Everglades are home to many different habitats and species. It also talked about how it needs saving. On Tuesday they had to find key details in the story to prove the author's purpose that it needed saving. Our grammar this week is writing compound sentences with a conjunction. We will also be writing complex sentences. Their spelling list was a list of homophones--words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and mean different things.
Friday-- We will celebrate Halloween! They will participate in some games and activities provided by 6-8 graders. The Halloween parade will be at 2:30. You are welcome to join us in the gym for that!
Iowa History Projects are due on Monday! Mrs. Sickels is planning on having the Iowa History Fair on Wednesday from 1:15-2:00 in the gym. You are welcome to attend!
I am heading to Doon this weekend. My plan is to bring my mom back here with me. She will stay with me for most of November, maybe all of it. We will have to see if she is enjoying her vacation away! :) Have a great weekend! Happy Halloween!
God Bless, Miss Surma
The October Book-It Calendars are due on Monday. Make sure you sign them first! Even if they don't make the goal, if they have attempted to keep track of their minutes, send it back. I like to see how they are doing. I will give them their new one on Monday. The goal for November will be the same.
Conferences- last week I sent you a link to sign up for your child's conference. Please make sure you do that before November 5. If you are having trouble with that date, email me. We can make other arrangements. It looks like I only need a few more.
Math- This week we started working on division with placing the first digit. The way I taught them is the same way we all grew up learning it. Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down, Repeat. They are dealing with remainders and we have discussed how the remainder can not be equal to or larger than the divisor. On Tuesday, I taught them how to check their division by multiplying the divisor times the quotient and adding the remainder. It was funny how many of them still said, "Did I get it right?" We will be learning other strategies, but the overall one we will use is the strategy above. The next one we cover is one I learned a few years ago in my math class. Division using partial quotients. I really liked because for those kids who struggle with basic facts, this is pretty easy. You multiply by 10s until you can't go any further, then you start your single digits. I will try to send home a hard copy for you to check it out. They still are multiplying and subtracting, but it gets their dividend smaller in bigger chunks! It is pretty cool. Some kids like it, others don't. That's the great thing about math--- there are multiple ways to solve a problem. They just need to find the one that works for them!
Halloween Stories-- They are all typed and attached to their Frankensteins! They will be in the hallway for you to read during conferences.
Reading- This week we read a nonfiction story about the Everglades. A 5th grade class took a field trip to see them. The story really talks about how the Everglades are home to many different habitats and species. It also talked about how it needs saving. On Tuesday they had to find key details in the story to prove the author's purpose that it needed saving. Our grammar this week is writing compound sentences with a conjunction. We will also be writing complex sentences. Their spelling list was a list of homophones--words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and mean different things.
Friday-- We will celebrate Halloween! They will participate in some games and activities provided by 6-8 graders. The Halloween parade will be at 2:30. You are welcome to join us in the gym for that!
Iowa History Projects are due on Monday! Mrs. Sickels is planning on having the Iowa History Fair on Wednesday from 1:15-2:00 in the gym. You are welcome to attend!
I am heading to Doon this weekend. My plan is to bring my mom back here with me. She will stay with me for most of November, maybe all of it. We will have to see if she is enjoying her vacation away! :) Have a great weekend! Happy Halloween!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Dear Parents! Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a great week!
On Wednesday I emailed you a link for our fall parent teacher conferences! That is where you will sign up! It should be pretty simple! I just checked my emails! I have 3 already signed up! Yay!!!
I know our school website is down. I hope you have subscribed to getting my blog because then it will be sent to your email automatically. I will try to send the link to this as well through my emails.
Reading- This week they are reading a short excerpt from Old Yeller. We have spent time talking about the dialect in that story and that it is different from an accent. They are also working on discussing character traits to figure out what each character is like. We are discussing adages and proverbs too. This can be difficult with some context. We worked on ones like A penny saved is a penny earned. or Laughter is the best medicine.
Halloween Stories- I am editing those and have been handing them back as quickly as I can. I have given them each a due date and the requirements for typing.
Math-- We are just beginning our new chapter on division. I will talk to you about their test scores at conferences, but if you have any questions, please call me or email.
Religion- They are really working on their decades of the rosary! We will probably be back in the book next week!
Back to the Future Day- I hope they enjoyed the day as much as I did! They went to the 21st Century room in the library and were able to play with the robots and the goggles that took them on a 3D ride! We were the first group, so some of the stuff wasn't working for us. The person from the AEA couldn't be here due to a family emergency. We did the best we could, but we will get another chance next week! They will need their phones or ipods again for that. Father Halbur did a great job of relating the movie to today's gospel! In my room they made posters comparing trends and current events and prices from the 50s, 80s, and today! That took pretty much the rest of our day! I loved reliving the 80s.
Halloween Activities-- Next Friday we will have activities for Halloween in the afternoon. They should also come to school with their costume in their bag or in another bag. We will do the Halloween parade again that afternoon at 2:30 in the gym. You are welcome to attend! If you want to take your child home after the parade, that is okay, but just see me before you do so I know they are leaving.
Spirit Day is this Friday! $1 to wear sweats!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Enjoy these great fall temps!
God Bless, Miss Surma
On Wednesday I emailed you a link for our fall parent teacher conferences! That is where you will sign up! It should be pretty simple! I just checked my emails! I have 3 already signed up! Yay!!!
I know our school website is down. I hope you have subscribed to getting my blog because then it will be sent to your email automatically. I will try to send the link to this as well through my emails.
Reading- This week they are reading a short excerpt from Old Yeller. We have spent time talking about the dialect in that story and that it is different from an accent. They are also working on discussing character traits to figure out what each character is like. We are discussing adages and proverbs too. This can be difficult with some context. We worked on ones like A penny saved is a penny earned. or Laughter is the best medicine.
Halloween Stories- I am editing those and have been handing them back as quickly as I can. I have given them each a due date and the requirements for typing.
Math-- We are just beginning our new chapter on division. I will talk to you about their test scores at conferences, but if you have any questions, please call me or email.
Religion- They are really working on their decades of the rosary! We will probably be back in the book next week!
Back to the Future Day- I hope they enjoyed the day as much as I did! They went to the 21st Century room in the library and were able to play with the robots and the goggles that took them on a 3D ride! We were the first group, so some of the stuff wasn't working for us. The person from the AEA couldn't be here due to a family emergency. We did the best we could, but we will get another chance next week! They will need their phones or ipods again for that. Father Halbur did a great job of relating the movie to today's gospel! In my room they made posters comparing trends and current events and prices from the 50s, 80s, and today! That took pretty much the rest of our day! I loved reliving the 80s.
Halloween Activities-- Next Friday we will have activities for Halloween in the afternoon. They should also come to school with their costume in their bag or in another bag. We will do the Halloween parade again that afternoon at 2:30 in the gym. You are welcome to attend! If you want to take your child home after the parade, that is okay, but just see me before you do so I know they are leaving.
Spirit Day is this Friday! $1 to wear sweats!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Enjoy these great fall temps!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Happy Thursday!!! I hope everyone is having a great week!
Reading- This week you will find your child's scores from the unit test in the take home folder. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me, otherwise we will discuss at conferences in November. This week they read a nonfiction story about tree kangaroos or tree 'roos. A group of scientists were studying them. The story was mostly about how the scientists are able to capture them and attach a collar around their necks. This would send information to a satellite. A skill we focused on was cause and effect. We identified the causes from a particular page and then they had to tell me the effect from that cause. We also are working on verbs in grammar. They are learning about action verbs and helping verbs. On Wednesday, they had to identify the verb and then tell me if that verb conveyed sequence, time, condition, or state. We are also going to talk about picking verbs that are vague and verbs that are more exact. For example a vague verb would be went, but an exact verb would be scrambled. I told them to think about that as they write their rough drafts for their Halloween stories. In our small groups on Monday and Tuesday, we worked on synonyms and antonyms. They also had to come up with a definition of the main word based on its synonyms or antonyms.
Halloween rough drafts are due Friday. I told them they should write it in print and skip lines ( that part is for me when I edit them). The final draft needs to be typed. I will edit them and return as quickly as possible. I will give them a due date for their final draft when I return it to them. If you don't have access to a computer, please let me know. We can use the lab before or after school to get them to type up their final story. IF you just have trouble printing it out, email me the paper, and I will print it off.
Math- They are testing over chapter 1 on Thursday. The last two lessons in this chapter were really the beginning steps to algebra. They thought at first it was going to be difficult, but the more we worked on them, the easier they became for them. I heard many of them say, "Wow, this is way easier than I thought it was going to be!" I hope to send home the tests on Friday with their scores, but that will depend on if there are a lot of corrections to do.
Religion- Everyone has passed their prayers!! Woo hoo! They are now working on knowing all the decades to rosary. I told them they will have their first quiz over the Sorrowful Mysteries on Friday. If they don't pass it then, they will retake it on Monday. We went to the chapel last Friday to say the entire rosary. I was so impressed! I started it out, but then each student ended up leading a prayer or announcing the next decade. What impressed me most was that I didn't have to tell them which prayer was next or remind them where we were on the rosary. They knew it! It flowed so smoothly. They were so reverent. I just really enjoyed that prayer time with them!
Art- Last week I showed them a how to video on drawing Anger from the movie Inside Out. We didn't finish it then, but we did this week! They loved it! Their pictures are so cute! I will post a picture when I remember my phone! I know many of them told me they went home and did others last week!
Conferences--Keep a look out for a sign up for conference times! Let me know if you cannot meet on November 5. We can make other arrangements.
School Website-- It is down and has been for 2 weeks. I know Mrs. Simmons has decided to make her own blog so that you can get information. Hopefully you are all getting mine as well in your emails!
Book Order- I sent home a book order. If you are interested in ordering, please have the order returned by Friday. Thank you!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am heading home to Doon on Friday after work to visit Mom for the weekend.
God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week you will find your child's scores from the unit test in the take home folder. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me, otherwise we will discuss at conferences in November. This week they read a nonfiction story about tree kangaroos or tree 'roos. A group of scientists were studying them. The story was mostly about how the scientists are able to capture them and attach a collar around their necks. This would send information to a satellite. A skill we focused on was cause and effect. We identified the causes from a particular page and then they had to tell me the effect from that cause. We also are working on verbs in grammar. They are learning about action verbs and helping verbs. On Wednesday, they had to identify the verb and then tell me if that verb conveyed sequence, time, condition, or state. We are also going to talk about picking verbs that are vague and verbs that are more exact. For example a vague verb would be went, but an exact verb would be scrambled. I told them to think about that as they write their rough drafts for their Halloween stories. In our small groups on Monday and Tuesday, we worked on synonyms and antonyms. They also had to come up with a definition of the main word based on its synonyms or antonyms.
Halloween rough drafts are due Friday. I told them they should write it in print and skip lines ( that part is for me when I edit them). The final draft needs to be typed. I will edit them and return as quickly as possible. I will give them a due date for their final draft when I return it to them. If you don't have access to a computer, please let me know. We can use the lab before or after school to get them to type up their final story. IF you just have trouble printing it out, email me the paper, and I will print it off.
Math- They are testing over chapter 1 on Thursday. The last two lessons in this chapter were really the beginning steps to algebra. They thought at first it was going to be difficult, but the more we worked on them, the easier they became for them. I heard many of them say, "Wow, this is way easier than I thought it was going to be!" I hope to send home the tests on Friday with their scores, but that will depend on if there are a lot of corrections to do.
Religion- Everyone has passed their prayers!! Woo hoo! They are now working on knowing all the decades to rosary. I told them they will have their first quiz over the Sorrowful Mysteries on Friday. If they don't pass it then, they will retake it on Monday. We went to the chapel last Friday to say the entire rosary. I was so impressed! I started it out, but then each student ended up leading a prayer or announcing the next decade. What impressed me most was that I didn't have to tell them which prayer was next or remind them where we were on the rosary. They knew it! It flowed so smoothly. They were so reverent. I just really enjoyed that prayer time with them!
Art- Last week I showed them a how to video on drawing Anger from the movie Inside Out. We didn't finish it then, but we did this week! They loved it! Their pictures are so cute! I will post a picture when I remember my phone! I know many of them told me they went home and did others last week!
Conferences--Keep a look out for a sign up for conference times! Let me know if you cannot meet on November 5. We can make other arrangements.
School Website-- It is down and has been for 2 weeks. I know Mrs. Simmons has decided to make her own blog so that you can get information. Hopefully you are all getting mine as well in your emails!
Book Order- I sent home a book order. If you are interested in ordering, please have the order returned by Friday. Thank you!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am heading home to Doon on Friday after work to visit Mom for the weekend.
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Hi Parents! Well, I guess my blog fixed itself! Love when that happens! I hope you are having a good week!
Reading- This week they are taking their first unit test. I have broken it up each day. You will get the test results next week in their take home folder. We will start a new story on Monday. They will also have spelling again next week!
Book Report- I assigned the report on Tuesday. They have all chosen a book to read. I gave them until next Tuesday, Oct. 13, to decide if they need to change their book choice. They project will be due on Friday, November 13.
Book Order- They have an order form for October in their folders. If you are ordering, please return the order by Oct. 16.
Math- We are working on algebraic expressions this week and order of operations. This can be tricky. They are working hard though and have figured out the steps to solve it. I told them on Wednesday that they will most likely be testing next week. I have also discussed with the 5th graders that unless it says "mental math", I want to see their work. I want to see what they are thinking in order to solve that problem. We also discussed that there are some things such as basic facts that I don't need to see on paper, but if it is a multi-step problem, I want to see what they are doing to solve it. This is mostly when I see them doing a multiple choice math problem and they fill in the answer, but I don't see how they got it. That is especially true if they are multiplying large numbers.
Religion- WOW! They have really taken off on memorizing their two prayers. Almost everyone has already passed this piece! The next step will be learning all of the decades of the rosary.
Art- This week, I had them follow the steps of an artist online to create the character Anger from the movie Inside Out by Disney. They aren't finished yet, but what they have done is awesome! They watch, I pause the video, they draw, and we repeat the steps.
Mrs. Mitchell is on maternity leave now. Susan Weight will be her substitute.
Have a great weekend! Don't forget to attend the Spaghetti Supper if you are in town!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week they are taking their first unit test. I have broken it up each day. You will get the test results next week in their take home folder. We will start a new story on Monday. They will also have spelling again next week!
Book Report- I assigned the report on Tuesday. They have all chosen a book to read. I gave them until next Tuesday, Oct. 13, to decide if they need to change their book choice. They project will be due on Friday, November 13.
Book Order- They have an order form for October in their folders. If you are ordering, please return the order by Oct. 16.
Math- We are working on algebraic expressions this week and order of operations. This can be tricky. They are working hard though and have figured out the steps to solve it. I told them on Wednesday that they will most likely be testing next week. I have also discussed with the 5th graders that unless it says "mental math", I want to see their work. I want to see what they are thinking in order to solve that problem. We also discussed that there are some things such as basic facts that I don't need to see on paper, but if it is a multi-step problem, I want to see what they are doing to solve it. This is mostly when I see them doing a multiple choice math problem and they fill in the answer, but I don't see how they got it. That is especially true if they are multiplying large numbers.
Religion- WOW! They have really taken off on memorizing their two prayers. Almost everyone has already passed this piece! The next step will be learning all of the decades of the rosary.
Art- This week, I had them follow the steps of an artist online to create the character Anger from the movie Inside Out by Disney. They aren't finished yet, but what they have done is awesome! They watch, I pause the video, they draw, and we repeat the steps.
Mrs. Mitchell is on maternity leave now. Susan Weight will be her substitute.
Have a great weekend! Don't forget to attend the Spaghetti Supper if you are in town!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Please check out the link for information about the Spaghetti Supper!
https://stmalachy.bringit.bz/
https://stmalachy.bringit.bz/
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! Just a reminder that tomorrow (Friday) is Spirit Day! For $1 the students may wear sweatpants and their favorite "team" shirt! Since it is homecoming, they can wear their Panther gear! Don't forget it is a two hour early out on Friday too!!!
Mrs. Mitchell has been joining us in our reading and math time for small group work. She is with us for about 20 minutes for each class, three times a week. I mix the groups up every week. One group will do an activity with her and the other group works with me. It could be a vocabulary , comprehension, or decoding activity. In math, we are both just continuing what we are doing in class with a small group activity. Again, I switch the groups up every week.
Reading- This week we read a story called Double Dutch. It is a story about how a girls jump rope team was formed by a teacher at their school. The skill this week was about sequencing of the events. We did spend a lesson putting some of the events in order. They were also working on finding the nouns in sentences and labeling them common or proper. We need to do some more work on them. I think the hardest part for anyone is to realize that a word can be more than one part of speech, depending on how it is used in the sentence. Their test scores from last week are in the take home folders. This test had an extra story for them to read and answer ten questions on. This test was worth 50 points. Overall, they did really well. There are still areas they need to work on. They really should spend time studying their vocabulary words, and they need to use the context clues in the sentence to help them choose their answer. The grammar piece was hit a little hard because they were getting their subject and predicates mixed up.
We have one story left in this unit, which means they will have a unit test in two weeks.
Math-- This week they worked more on multiplying double digits or triple digits by double digits. They also worked on estimating their products. This was really good because as they worked I heard them making comments about how their "real" answer wasn't close to their "estimation". It made them stop and check over their work, which is always a good thing. On Wednesday, we started using the Distributive Property of Multiplication to solve division problems. This is a multiplication chapter...don't worry, they won't work on division problems until the next chapter. In our small group on Tuesday, I had them in two teams and they played tic-tac-toe on the chalkboard, but they were solving multiplication problems that Mrs. Mitchell and I made up. They loved it! They also realized that working fast wasn't always the best method. We played it again on Wednesday!
Religion- We are wrapping up another chapter this week. They will be testing on Monday or Tuesday next week. They did a TERRIFIC job with their first mass! I was very proud of them! We also took some time out to watch Pope Francis' visit to the USA. I am hoping we can watch a little more on Friday, but time will be the question. It's hard to believe October is around the corner. That is the month of the Rosary. We will be saying that in class. They don't have to bring a rosary to school, unless they want to. I have plenty of them to hand out. For the 5th graders this will also mean they will be memorizing two of the prayers we say during the Rosary. They will also be memorizing all of the decades. We will work spend time in class working on this.
Have a great weekend! Enjoy the parade on Friday and all the other homecoming activities!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Mrs. Mitchell has been joining us in our reading and math time for small group work. She is with us for about 20 minutes for each class, three times a week. I mix the groups up every week. One group will do an activity with her and the other group works with me. It could be a vocabulary , comprehension, or decoding activity. In math, we are both just continuing what we are doing in class with a small group activity. Again, I switch the groups up every week.
Reading- This week we read a story called Double Dutch. It is a story about how a girls jump rope team was formed by a teacher at their school. The skill this week was about sequencing of the events. We did spend a lesson putting some of the events in order. They were also working on finding the nouns in sentences and labeling them common or proper. We need to do some more work on them. I think the hardest part for anyone is to realize that a word can be more than one part of speech, depending on how it is used in the sentence. Their test scores from last week are in the take home folders. This test had an extra story for them to read and answer ten questions on. This test was worth 50 points. Overall, they did really well. There are still areas they need to work on. They really should spend time studying their vocabulary words, and they need to use the context clues in the sentence to help them choose their answer. The grammar piece was hit a little hard because they were getting their subject and predicates mixed up.
We have one story left in this unit, which means they will have a unit test in two weeks.
Math-- This week they worked more on multiplying double digits or triple digits by double digits. They also worked on estimating their products. This was really good because as they worked I heard them making comments about how their "real" answer wasn't close to their "estimation". It made them stop and check over their work, which is always a good thing. On Wednesday, we started using the Distributive Property of Multiplication to solve division problems. This is a multiplication chapter...don't worry, they won't work on division problems until the next chapter. In our small group on Tuesday, I had them in two teams and they played tic-tac-toe on the chalkboard, but they were solving multiplication problems that Mrs. Mitchell and I made up. They loved it! They also realized that working fast wasn't always the best method. We played it again on Wednesday!
Religion- We are wrapping up another chapter this week. They will be testing on Monday or Tuesday next week. They did a TERRIFIC job with their first mass! I was very proud of them! We also took some time out to watch Pope Francis' visit to the USA. I am hoping we can watch a little more on Friday, but time will be the question. It's hard to believe October is around the corner. That is the month of the Rosary. We will be saying that in class. They don't have to bring a rosary to school, unless they want to. I have plenty of them to hand out. For the 5th graders this will also mean they will be memorizing two of the prayers we say during the Rosary. They will also be memorizing all of the decades. We will work spend time in class working on this.
Have a great weekend! Enjoy the parade on Friday and all the other homecoming activities!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! It seems to be flying by rather quickly!
Math-- Last week and again this week the 5th graders were learning about the Powers of 10 with Exponents! They caught on pretty quickly! We are also beginning multiplication of whole numbers this week. I am pretty sure this should be review for them from 4th grade. We are about halfway through our first chapter.
Mass- Just a reminder that our first mass is next Wednesday. You are welcome to join us. I will be handing out mass parts on Friday. If your child has a speaking part, please try to find some time at home to practice.
Reading- This week they read a story about two 5th graders running for class president. We compared their campaign speeches and talked about what they were doing to persuade the votes their way. We also discussed how Miata used formal language with complete sentences, while Rudy used more casual language and slang to get his peers' attention. We also discussed what each candidate was running for--their platform. They decided that Miata was running to help the school, but Rudy was running for himself and his popularity.
Last week's test scores are in your child's take home folder. They did really well!!!
Next week Mrs. Mitchell will be in our reading class 3 times a week. She will be working with the small groups with me. We will focus on different skills each week.
Religion- They did an awesome job on their first test! This next chapter will bring us into discussing the Sacraments of Initiation. I can't believe we are nearing October already! We will be doing part of the Rosary each day in class.
Fundraiser Packets are now due. Please return them to school if you haven't done so already!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Hopefully the balloons will be able to go up! I will be spending most of my weekend in Des Moines. My nieces will be in town playing soccer!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Math-- Last week and again this week the 5th graders were learning about the Powers of 10 with Exponents! They caught on pretty quickly! We are also beginning multiplication of whole numbers this week. I am pretty sure this should be review for them from 4th grade. We are about halfway through our first chapter.
Mass- Just a reminder that our first mass is next Wednesday. You are welcome to join us. I will be handing out mass parts on Friday. If your child has a speaking part, please try to find some time at home to practice.
Reading- This week they read a story about two 5th graders running for class president. We compared their campaign speeches and talked about what they were doing to persuade the votes their way. We also discussed how Miata used formal language with complete sentences, while Rudy used more casual language and slang to get his peers' attention. We also discussed what each candidate was running for--their platform. They decided that Miata was running to help the school, but Rudy was running for himself and his popularity.
Last week's test scores are in your child's take home folder. They did really well!!!
Next week Mrs. Mitchell will be in our reading class 3 times a week. She will be working with the small groups with me. We will focus on different skills each week.
Religion- They did an awesome job on their first test! This next chapter will bring us into discussing the Sacraments of Initiation. I can't believe we are nearing October already! We will be doing part of the Rosary each day in class.
Fundraiser Packets are now due. Please return them to school if you haven't done so already!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Hopefully the balloons will be able to go up! I will be spending most of my weekend in Des Moines. My nieces will be in town playing soccer!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are enjoying this shorter week! Are you having trouble remembering which day it is??? I know I am!
Reading- This week they read a play about two girls at camp. There is a mystery to solve about one of the girls. It is also a little spin-off of The Princess and the Pea. They read a short version of that as well on Wednesday. We also discussed how writers can use similes to compare things. In this story the prince was constantly comparing things about the girls he met to other things. He would look at their hair, smile, voice, and handwriting to decide if they were an actual princess. Their grammar this week has been focusing on the four different kinds of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, imperative, and interrogative.
They will have their posttest in spelling on Friday. You will find in your child's Take Home Folder a copy of last week's reading test scores. That is your copy. It does not need to be returned.
Book Order- I sent home order forms last Thursday. If you're ordering any books, please return the form by Friday. Thanks!
Math- This week we have spent most of our time learning about the different properties you can use to solve an addition or multiplication problem. They worked on Commutative--4x5=5x4. Associative-- (23x5)x4= 23x(5x4)
Identity Property can be either -- 5x0=0 or 5x1=5 . Distributive property is probably the most challenging. 4x 107= (4x100)+(4x7). This gives them a small taste of Algebra!
Religion- We are finishing up the chapter this week. It covers the creation story, but it also focuses on the Blessed Trinity mystery and the mystery of the Incarnation. They had to come up with a picture that can visually show how something can be 3 in 1. They did a great job! Some of the pictures were glasses of lemonade, pizza slices, candy bars, shoes, etc. I am going to hang them up in the hallway. If you are here for the Food Fair on Sunday--walk down the hall and check them out! They will be testing on this chapter early next week I believe.
ISU vs IOWA-- This weekend is the big game. On Friday, your child can wear their favorite team shirt! This is NOT another Spirit Day. They still need to wear shorts or jeans--no sweatpants.
The 5th grade mass is scheduled for September 23. Please join us if possible!
Have a great weekend! I have to head back to Doon after work on Friday. Enjoy the Food Fair if you go!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week they read a play about two girls at camp. There is a mystery to solve about one of the girls. It is also a little spin-off of The Princess and the Pea. They read a short version of that as well on Wednesday. We also discussed how writers can use similes to compare things. In this story the prince was constantly comparing things about the girls he met to other things. He would look at their hair, smile, voice, and handwriting to decide if they were an actual princess. Their grammar this week has been focusing on the four different kinds of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, imperative, and interrogative.
They will have their posttest in spelling on Friday. You will find in your child's Take Home Folder a copy of last week's reading test scores. That is your copy. It does not need to be returned.
Book Order- I sent home order forms last Thursday. If you're ordering any books, please return the form by Friday. Thanks!
Math- This week we have spent most of our time learning about the different properties you can use to solve an addition or multiplication problem. They worked on Commutative--4x5=5x4. Associative-- (23x5)x4= 23x(5x4)
Identity Property can be either -- 5x0=0 or 5x1=5 . Distributive property is probably the most challenging. 4x 107= (4x100)+(4x7). This gives them a small taste of Algebra!
Religion- We are finishing up the chapter this week. It covers the creation story, but it also focuses on the Blessed Trinity mystery and the mystery of the Incarnation. They had to come up with a picture that can visually show how something can be 3 in 1. They did a great job! Some of the pictures were glasses of lemonade, pizza slices, candy bars, shoes, etc. I am going to hang them up in the hallway. If you are here for the Food Fair on Sunday--walk down the hall and check them out! They will be testing on this chapter early next week I believe.
ISU vs IOWA-- This weekend is the big game. On Friday, your child can wear their favorite team shirt! This is NOT another Spirit Day. They still need to wear shorts or jeans--no sweatpants.
The 5th grade mass is scheduled for September 23. Please join us if possible!
Have a great weekend! I have to head back to Doon after work on Friday. Enjoy the Food Fair if you go!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! We are back at it! It has been going really well!!! We already have one week done! :)
Math- They took a beginning of the year test last week. This is just to give me an idea of what they can already do. They were tested on things that they will certainly learn in 5th grade. This week we started our first chapter. We begin with place value. On Monday and Tuesday, we were focusing on the Base 10 blocks and how they place value system is based on 10s. When our numbers increase, we are usually multiplying by 10. We discussed how numbers will decrease by 1/10 as well. They noticed how the numbers are either gaining a zero or losing a zero.
I did tell them that on nights where they have to do their math at home, they can use their bigger math book as a textbook. We usually fill that out together, so you would have some idea on what we were doing in class that day.
Language Arts- This week we are reading a selection called A Package for Mrs. Jewls. This is just part of the story from Wayside School is Falling Down. This is a funny little story about how Mrs. Jewls is teaching her class about gravity when she receives a computer one day. She uses that as part of her gravity demonstration and throws it out the window! The students suddenly understand gravity! In grammar they are starting out with the basics of a proper sentence. They are identifying that each sentence needs a subject and a predicate. If one part is missing they have a sentence fragment. This spelling list is covering short vowels. They will have a posttest on Friday. They will also have a test over the story on Friday.
Religion- They did a Bible search last week. They had to locate chapters and verses and then find the title of that chapter and verse. This week we are beginning with understanding the mysteries of Incarnation--God becoming man in human form and the Blessed Trinity-- 3 in 1.
Book Order- In your child's folder is a book order. If you are interested in purchasing, please return the order and money by next Friday, Sept. 11.
Group Band on Thursday-- the students need to remember their instruments!
Friday, Sept. 4 is our first Spirit Day! That means students can wear sweats for $1. They can also sport their favorite team shirt-- Creston Panthers, STM, UNI...are there any others? Nope! Pretty sure that is it! Oh wait... I guess there might be some Hawkeye, Cyclone, or Husker fans. :) I realize the temp is supposed to be pretty hot on Friday, it is optional to participate!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Doon on Friday after work. No school on Monday, so I will see your kiddos on Tuesday!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Math- They took a beginning of the year test last week. This is just to give me an idea of what they can already do. They were tested on things that they will certainly learn in 5th grade. This week we started our first chapter. We begin with place value. On Monday and Tuesday, we were focusing on the Base 10 blocks and how they place value system is based on 10s. When our numbers increase, we are usually multiplying by 10. We discussed how numbers will decrease by 1/10 as well. They noticed how the numbers are either gaining a zero or losing a zero.
I did tell them that on nights where they have to do their math at home, they can use their bigger math book as a textbook. We usually fill that out together, so you would have some idea on what we were doing in class that day.
Language Arts- This week we are reading a selection called A Package for Mrs. Jewls. This is just part of the story from Wayside School is Falling Down. This is a funny little story about how Mrs. Jewls is teaching her class about gravity when she receives a computer one day. She uses that as part of her gravity demonstration and throws it out the window! The students suddenly understand gravity! In grammar they are starting out with the basics of a proper sentence. They are identifying that each sentence needs a subject and a predicate. If one part is missing they have a sentence fragment. This spelling list is covering short vowels. They will have a posttest on Friday. They will also have a test over the story on Friday.
Religion- They did a Bible search last week. They had to locate chapters and verses and then find the title of that chapter and verse. This week we are beginning with understanding the mysteries of Incarnation--God becoming man in human form and the Blessed Trinity-- 3 in 1.
Book Order- In your child's folder is a book order. If you are interested in purchasing, please return the order and money by next Friday, Sept. 11.
Group Band on Thursday-- the students need to remember their instruments!
Friday, Sept. 4 is our first Spirit Day! That means students can wear sweats for $1. They can also sport their favorite team shirt-- Creston Panthers, STM, UNI...are there any others? Nope! Pretty sure that is it! Oh wait... I guess there might be some Hawkeye, Cyclone, or Husker fans. :) I realize the temp is supposed to be pretty hot on Friday, it is optional to participate!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Doon on Friday after work. No school on Monday, so I will see your kiddos on Tuesday!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Hello Parents! We had a wonderful first day, I think! They gave me a "Thumbs-up" before they went home! I think it is going to be a great year!!! Tomorrow the learning will really begin! PE is tomorrow, so don't forget tennis shoes!
There is also a band meeting, but they do NOT need instruments!
My first letter to you is in paper form! You will receive it in your child's folder tomorrow! Next week I will start my blog!
Have a great night!
Miss Surma
There is also a band meeting, but they do NOT need instruments!
My first letter to you is in paper form! You will receive it in your child's folder tomorrow! Next week I will start my blog!
Have a great night!
Miss Surma
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Hi Parents, It is the final letter of the year!! I can't believe it!
I am not going to write a lot...I think!
On Friday we will be cleaning out the desks!
On Tuesday, they will need a sack lunch and drink. They can have soda, but nothing bigger than 20oz. They should wear tennis shoes and not sandals due to the running they might do for field day.
Tuesday is a full day...we don't dismiss early. We have a gathering in the gym at 2:40, if you'd like to come for the closing time! You can also come and watch field day activities. That will start at 10:00.
In your child's folder is an envelope. That is their results for Iowa Assessments. You might also find a sheet with BRI-- the reading inventory test that Mrs. Mitchell gives.
Just a final note to you... I know I have said it before, but I have truly enjoyed your children! They have been such a fun group to work with this year. They certainly made me laugh more times than I can count. Each of them is a special kid with their own wonderful personality. I have really loved getting to know them better each and every day. Thank you so much for sending them here and letting me be a part of their world for a time. I will treasure this year when I look back. While I am excited for summer, I am sad to see them go. It's always a tough one to let them move on and face that they are really growing up! I am sure you know what I mean!
I hope everyone has a wonderful summer! I am planning on heading to Doon next Friday or Saturday. I will spend the summer there with Mom. We will probably do some small trips, but nothing major is planned. Oh wait...I know I will be reading!!!! That is my favorite thing about summer break! :)
Have a great Memorial Day weekend! I will see your kids on Tuesday for our last day!
God Bless, Miss Surma
I am not going to write a lot...I think!
On Friday we will be cleaning out the desks!
On Tuesday, they will need a sack lunch and drink. They can have soda, but nothing bigger than 20oz. They should wear tennis shoes and not sandals due to the running they might do for field day.
Tuesday is a full day...we don't dismiss early. We have a gathering in the gym at 2:40, if you'd like to come for the closing time! You can also come and watch field day activities. That will start at 10:00.
In your child's folder is an envelope. That is their results for Iowa Assessments. You might also find a sheet with BRI-- the reading inventory test that Mrs. Mitchell gives.
Just a final note to you... I know I have said it before, but I have truly enjoyed your children! They have been such a fun group to work with this year. They certainly made me laugh more times than I can count. Each of them is a special kid with their own wonderful personality. I have really loved getting to know them better each and every day. Thank you so much for sending them here and letting me be a part of their world for a time. I will treasure this year when I look back. While I am excited for summer, I am sad to see them go. It's always a tough one to let them move on and face that they are really growing up! I am sure you know what I mean!
I hope everyone has a wonderful summer! I am planning on heading to Doon next Friday or Saturday. I will spend the summer there with Mom. We will probably do some small trips, but nothing major is planned. Oh wait...I know I will be reading!!!! That is my favorite thing about summer break! :)
Have a great Memorial Day weekend! I will see your kids on Tuesday for our last day!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! I hope all the moms had a great day on Sunday! I think my mom enjoyed our weekend together! I am posting the blog early because tomorrow I will be on a field trip!
Math- I was really pleased with the test scores! I plan on us starting our multiplication of fractions this Friday. I know we won't get far, but we will do some every day!
Reading- They are nearing the end of our book. I feel like I am rushing it a bit, but I want them to know how it turns out for Matt. Matt is really learning a lot about the Indian's way of life and what the white people have done to them. Attean has taught him how to make a fire without flint, make a snare, a bow and arrow. His father still has not come back from Quincy with his family. His dad told him it would be about 7 weeks and now it is more like 10 weeks. He is beginning to wonder if his dad ever made it back to his mom and sister. Matt also helped Attean kill a bear. Today I read a chapter to them about Matt discovering Attean's dog in a trap. He and Attean's sister rescued him.
Middle School Day- They shadowed the 6th graders today in middle school after mass. It was a lot of fun. In science they read an article and then did a lab. In math they learned about how they are working with equations and then played BINGO with them. Some even won prizes! In language arts they watched them get into their Google Docs and work on their research papers. They went to lunch and recess with them!
Field Trip-- We leave tomorrow around 8:15 and should be back between 4:15 and 4:30. If you need to let me know something before we get back...you can text me at 641-344-3299 or call Sarah. She will text me the info. They don't need a sack lunch! They can have their gadgets in the cars for the ride. There is a 100% chance of rain tomorrow and by the sound of it, it is supposed to be pretty much all day. I told them to take an umbrella if they have one! They should also wear a light jacket or sweatshirt with a hood! I think we will be wet by the end of the day!
Have a great weekend! I am planning on going to Des Moines to watch my niece play soccer! God Bless, Miss Surma
Math- I was really pleased with the test scores! I plan on us starting our multiplication of fractions this Friday. I know we won't get far, but we will do some every day!
Reading- They are nearing the end of our book. I feel like I am rushing it a bit, but I want them to know how it turns out for Matt. Matt is really learning a lot about the Indian's way of life and what the white people have done to them. Attean has taught him how to make a fire without flint, make a snare, a bow and arrow. His father still has not come back from Quincy with his family. His dad told him it would be about 7 weeks and now it is more like 10 weeks. He is beginning to wonder if his dad ever made it back to his mom and sister. Matt also helped Attean kill a bear. Today I read a chapter to them about Matt discovering Attean's dog in a trap. He and Attean's sister rescued him.
Middle School Day- They shadowed the 6th graders today in middle school after mass. It was a lot of fun. In science they read an article and then did a lab. In math they learned about how they are working with equations and then played BINGO with them. Some even won prizes! In language arts they watched them get into their Google Docs and work on their research papers. They went to lunch and recess with them!
Field Trip-- We leave tomorrow around 8:15 and should be back between 4:15 and 4:30. If you need to let me know something before we get back...you can text me at 641-344-3299 or call Sarah. She will text me the info. They don't need a sack lunch! They can have their gadgets in the cars for the ride. There is a 100% chance of rain tomorrow and by the sound of it, it is supposed to be pretty much all day. I told them to take an umbrella if they have one! They should also wear a light jacket or sweatshirt with a hood! I think we will be wet by the end of the day!
Have a great weekend! I am planning on going to Des Moines to watch my niece play soccer! God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Hello Parents, Wow, our year is really winding down! First, I'd like to wish all the mothers a very Happy Mother's Day this weekend! Speaking from a daughter's point-of-view-- there aren't enough words to describe how thankful I am for my mom!!!! I am not sure what I would do without mine, even if our roles have reversed these days. She has done more for me over the years than I could ever begin to thank her for doing! :) Enjoy your day!!!
Reading- We are busy reading our book! I love the discussions we are having each day. I love it more when I hear them say,"Miss Surma! I don't want to stop after this chapter!" So exciting! In your child's folder you will see their first quiz from last week! They did really well! They will have another one today. Last week I brought in my homemade molasses cookies because they were talking about molasses in social studies, but it is also talked about in our book. I told them if they want to make them, look in the STM Cookbook! I put the recipe in there. On Tuesday, I brought in cornbread muffins. In our book they discuss corn cake or Johnny cakes. I let them top it with a jelly or honey or both! I did tell them, Matt most likely didn't have this, but they reminded me he had molasses!!
Friday is BOOK REPORT DAY!!!! When they get to school, they should drop off their posters, projects,and costumes before they go outside to wait for the 8:10 bell. They should plan on bringing their costume home that night. I will keep the posters or projects at school until I am done grading them. I know I won't be able to get them graded that day. At some point next week they will be able to take them home.
Library-- All library books that have been checked out will be due back on May 15. There won't be any books checked out after that date. They will still need a chapter book to read in the classroom. They can bring from home, use their Kindle, take off my shelf, or get one from the public library.
Math- They are testing over this chapter today! We will start our next chapter on multiplying fractions, but I doubt we get to finish it. Time is running out. I will get as far as I can with them.
Middle School Information Night is tonight from 6-7p.m. in the 7th grade room/science/ Mrs. Root's room.
Field Trip- Our trip is next Thursday. We will leave around 8:15. Our last session ends at 2:40. We will take a bathroom break and then get to our cars shortly after that. We should be home between 4:15 and 4:30. They do NOT need lunches or money. Lunches and Water will be provided! They should wear tennis shoes, not sandals. They should dress appropriately for temps. No sweats!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Doon to spend it with Mom! Happy Mother's Day!!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- We are busy reading our book! I love the discussions we are having each day. I love it more when I hear them say,"Miss Surma! I don't want to stop after this chapter!" So exciting! In your child's folder you will see their first quiz from last week! They did really well! They will have another one today. Last week I brought in my homemade molasses cookies because they were talking about molasses in social studies, but it is also talked about in our book. I told them if they want to make them, look in the STM Cookbook! I put the recipe in there. On Tuesday, I brought in cornbread muffins. In our book they discuss corn cake or Johnny cakes. I let them top it with a jelly or honey or both! I did tell them, Matt most likely didn't have this, but they reminded me he had molasses!!
Friday is BOOK REPORT DAY!!!! When they get to school, they should drop off their posters, projects,and costumes before they go outside to wait for the 8:10 bell. They should plan on bringing their costume home that night. I will keep the posters or projects at school until I am done grading them. I know I won't be able to get them graded that day. At some point next week they will be able to take them home.
Library-- All library books that have been checked out will be due back on May 15. There won't be any books checked out after that date. They will still need a chapter book to read in the classroom. They can bring from home, use their Kindle, take off my shelf, or get one from the public library.
Math- They are testing over this chapter today! We will start our next chapter on multiplying fractions, but I doubt we get to finish it. Time is running out. I will get as far as I can with them.
Middle School Information Night is tonight from 6-7p.m. in the 7th grade room/science/ Mrs. Root's room.
Field Trip- Our trip is next Thursday. We will leave around 8:15. Our last session ends at 2:40. We will take a bathroom break and then get to our cars shortly after that. We should be home between 4:15 and 4:30. They do NOT need lunches or money. Lunches and Water will be provided! They should wear tennis shoes, not sandals. They should dress appropriately for temps. No sweats!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Doon to spend it with Mom! Happy Mother's Day!!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Hello Parents, I hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather we are having this week! Thank you so much for making it to our play last week! I am so proud of them! They did a terrific job! I hope they had as much fun performing it for you as they did eating the cake afterwards! HaHa!
Reading- We started our book this week. We have read about 3 chapters so far. Each day they do some vocabulary and comprehension questions based on the chapter. We are having a good discussion as well. So far, Matt and his father moved from Maine to Massachusetts. Matt's dad got some land there. He and Matt built the cabin for their family and planted their first crop of corn. Matt's dad left to go back to Maine to get Matt's mom, sister, and the new baby. Matt is in charge of taking care of the cabin and the crops until he returns. Matt is discovering there aren't really enough hours in the day to do everything! We just met a man named Ben who pretty much made himself welcome in Matt's cabin for the night. Matt awakened the next day to find Ben gone...along with the gun his dad had left him. On Wednesday, they had to create a WANTED poster for Ben. They have been really good about going back into the story to find the proof they need for their answers!
Math- They are continuing to subtract mixed numbers this week, but now they have to do renaming. The first thing they have to remember is that they need to have common denominators. I taught them 2 different ways to do the subtraction-- either through renaming or creating improper fractions before they subtract. Most of them thought the creating improper fractions was the easier of the two, but now through more practice, I see many of them using renaming!!! I have to agree... I grew up learning the improper fraction way, but the renaming is actually easier and faster. We don't have much more to this chapter. I think they could be testing over it next week. I will move on to the next chapter, which I believe will be multiplying fractions, but I doubt we finish it before the end of the year.
Field Trip--In your child's folder is the permission form for their field trip on the 14th. Please fill it out and return it to me by May 11. Thank you!
Book Reports- Just a reminder that they are due next Friday! They should come to school with their project and their costume on the 8th. I will do my best to get all presentations done that day. If not, they will have to finish the next Monday.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- We started our book this week. We have read about 3 chapters so far. Each day they do some vocabulary and comprehension questions based on the chapter. We are having a good discussion as well. So far, Matt and his father moved from Maine to Massachusetts. Matt's dad got some land there. He and Matt built the cabin for their family and planted their first crop of corn. Matt's dad left to go back to Maine to get Matt's mom, sister, and the new baby. Matt is in charge of taking care of the cabin and the crops until he returns. Matt is discovering there aren't really enough hours in the day to do everything! We just met a man named Ben who pretty much made himself welcome in Matt's cabin for the night. Matt awakened the next day to find Ben gone...along with the gun his dad had left him. On Wednesday, they had to create a WANTED poster for Ben. They have been really good about going back into the story to find the proof they need for their answers!
Math- They are continuing to subtract mixed numbers this week, but now they have to do renaming. The first thing they have to remember is that they need to have common denominators. I taught them 2 different ways to do the subtraction-- either through renaming or creating improper fractions before they subtract. Most of them thought the creating improper fractions was the easier of the two, but now through more practice, I see many of them using renaming!!! I have to agree... I grew up learning the improper fraction way, but the renaming is actually easier and faster. We don't have much more to this chapter. I think they could be testing over it next week. I will move on to the next chapter, which I believe will be multiplying fractions, but I doubt we finish it before the end of the year.
Field Trip--In your child's folder is the permission form for their field trip on the 14th. Please fill it out and return it to me by May 11. Thank you!
Book Reports- Just a reminder that they are due next Friday! They should come to school with their project and their costume on the 8th. I will do my best to get all presentations done that day. If not, they will have to finish the next Monday.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Hi Parents, I hope this week has been going well for you! The great news we got this week is that Deborah Pope is home!!!! Our prayers continue for a smooth recovery!
Reading- This week they are taking the unit 5 test. I have chunked the test throughout the week because they are also rehearsing for their play! The rehearsals are going well! Wednesday was our official day of practicing without scripts! They did really well. There are still some areas that need a little work, but overall they are doing GREAT!!! I look forward to you seeing their performance on Friday! Remember it only lasts about 10 minutes once it starts! Afterwards, we will come back to the classroom and enjoy some of that cake!
Next week I will be starting a new unit with them in reading. We are going to read the book The Sign of the Beaver. I have ordered books from the AEA. I will be giving each student a folder that will hold all the the activities and worksheets we will be using. I am posting a picture for you! We will do some reading and discussing in class. They will also be assigned reading and assignments. I am excited about doing this! It will be different from our units. They will still have grammar and spelling worksheets and tests. They won't have those weekly tests over the story. I will be giving them quizzes throughout the book, but those won't be weekly. There will be a final test in the end! We will have a lot to cover in a short time, but the chapters aren't very long!
Book Report- They have two more weeks to be working on those!!! The due date is just around the corner! May 8!!!!
Math- This week they were adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators. On Wednesday, I threw them the curve ball I had warned them about! They started learning about subtracting fractions with renaming and not only that, but they still had to find that common denominator! :) For example once they found the common denominator it might look like 12 2/8- 10 5/8=??? We just spent Wednesday practicing it over and over again. Today we will do some more of that with trying to do a couple on their own!
Field Trip- If you notice in the dates box I posted they have a field trip coming up in May. I have my drivers lined up. We will be going to DMACC in Ankeny to attend the Iowa Children's Water Festival. This is held every year at DMACC. UNI puts this on! Go Panthers! ;) It is just a day for 5th graders. There will be close to 2,000 kids there! It is a day where we walk the campus and attend little workshops or listen to speakers. They talk anything related to water or animals. It is a big science day! They won't need a sack lunch or drink!!! That is provided for them there! It doesn't cost anything to go! It does happen rain or shine, and I have endured plenty of rainy cold days, probably more than I like to think about! I will send home a permission slip next week.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week they are taking the unit 5 test. I have chunked the test throughout the week because they are also rehearsing for their play! The rehearsals are going well! Wednesday was our official day of practicing without scripts! They did really well. There are still some areas that need a little work, but overall they are doing GREAT!!! I look forward to you seeing their performance on Friday! Remember it only lasts about 10 minutes once it starts! Afterwards, we will come back to the classroom and enjoy some of that cake!
Next week I will be starting a new unit with them in reading. We are going to read the book The Sign of the Beaver. I have ordered books from the AEA. I will be giving each student a folder that will hold all the the activities and worksheets we will be using. I am posting a picture for you! We will do some reading and discussing in class. They will also be assigned reading and assignments. I am excited about doing this! It will be different from our units. They will still have grammar and spelling worksheets and tests. They won't have those weekly tests over the story. I will be giving them quizzes throughout the book, but those won't be weekly. There will be a final test in the end! We will have a lot to cover in a short time, but the chapters aren't very long!
Book Report- They have two more weeks to be working on those!!! The due date is just around the corner! May 8!!!!
Math- This week they were adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators. On Wednesday, I threw them the curve ball I had warned them about! They started learning about subtracting fractions with renaming and not only that, but they still had to find that common denominator! :) For example once they found the common denominator it might look like 12 2/8- 10 5/8=??? We just spent Wednesday practicing it over and over again. Today we will do some more of that with trying to do a couple on their own!
Field Trip- If you notice in the dates box I posted they have a field trip coming up in May. I have my drivers lined up. We will be going to DMACC in Ankeny to attend the Iowa Children's Water Festival. This is held every year at DMACC. UNI puts this on! Go Panthers! ;) It is just a day for 5th graders. There will be close to 2,000 kids there! It is a day where we walk the campus and attend little workshops or listen to speakers. They talk anything related to water or animals. It is a big science day! They won't need a sack lunch or drink!!! That is provided for them there! It doesn't cost anything to go! It does happen rain or shine, and I have endured plenty of rainy cold days, probably more than I like to think about! I will send home a permission slip next week.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are having a good week!
We are almost finished with the Iowa Assessments! I think they will be done by the end of the day on Thursday!
Reading-- Just a reminder that they will be taking Unit 5 test next week. I postponed it a week due to IA Assessments. They also have the script for our play. On Friday they will try out! They will know their part before they leave on Friday. That will give them the weekend to start memorizing their lines. They are already asking me about what to wear so here are my suggestions for the roles:
Manuel-- Mass Day Attire
Pablo- Mass Day Attire, maybe add a hat of some kind to make you look like an older guy
Carlos and his sisters-- wear what you would wear to school! Look like a kid!
Women or Villager-- Be creative! You are the older people in town. I've had girls dress up like little old ladies and boys use canes! Carry a purse or cane! Wear a hat! Mass day clothes or raid your parents or grandparents closets!
Judge-- I will take care of! I have a robe to put over your clothes.
Props- We will need toy food, a small purse, and a gavel or toy hammer.
Math- They worked on estimating fractions using benchmark numbers this week. They also used what I had taught them earlier about finding a common denominator to create an equivalent fraction before you can add or subtract them. They have no problem with this since we did it earlier! The hardest part is remembering to simplify!
Religion- We finally finished the epic The Ten Commandments movie! We are also starting Guidance. I did some on Wednesday, but this will be a Friday thing most weeks!
Lap-A-Thon- I sent home the Lap-A-Thon letter with the pledges' envelope. That will be due back on April 23. They run that day! They can bring their music to listen to as they run if they want! They might also want another pair of shoes. I know shoes get really muddy.
Our prayers continue to be said for Deborah Pope and Kenneth Rhone. We hope they both get well soon!
I just want to say again....that I really love your kids! They made my day yesterday when they gave me the scrapbook! It will be treasured always. They are such a great group of individuals! Each is unique and special in their own way, I love that about them. I know we all look forward to summer, but that last day might be really tough for me!
Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
We are almost finished with the Iowa Assessments! I think they will be done by the end of the day on Thursday!
Reading-- Just a reminder that they will be taking Unit 5 test next week. I postponed it a week due to IA Assessments. They also have the script for our play. On Friday they will try out! They will know their part before they leave on Friday. That will give them the weekend to start memorizing their lines. They are already asking me about what to wear so here are my suggestions for the roles:
Manuel-- Mass Day Attire
Pablo- Mass Day Attire, maybe add a hat of some kind to make you look like an older guy
Carlos and his sisters-- wear what you would wear to school! Look like a kid!
Women or Villager-- Be creative! You are the older people in town. I've had girls dress up like little old ladies and boys use canes! Carry a purse or cane! Wear a hat! Mass day clothes or raid your parents or grandparents closets!
Judge-- I will take care of! I have a robe to put over your clothes.
Props- We will need toy food, a small purse, and a gavel or toy hammer.
Math- They worked on estimating fractions using benchmark numbers this week. They also used what I had taught them earlier about finding a common denominator to create an equivalent fraction before you can add or subtract them. They have no problem with this since we did it earlier! The hardest part is remembering to simplify!
Religion- We finally finished the epic The Ten Commandments movie! We are also starting Guidance. I did some on Wednesday, but this will be a Friday thing most weeks!
Lap-A-Thon- I sent home the Lap-A-Thon letter with the pledges' envelope. That will be due back on April 23. They run that day! They can bring their music to listen to as they run if they want! They might also want another pair of shoes. I know shoes get really muddy.
Our prayers continue to be said for Deborah Pope and Kenneth Rhone. We hope they both get well soon!
I just want to say again....that I really love your kids! They made my day yesterday when they gave me the scrapbook! It will be treasured always. They are such a great group of individuals! Each is unique and special in their own way, I love that about them. I know we all look forward to summer, but that last day might be really tough for me!
Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
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| Have I told you lately how much I love my 5th graders???? |
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Hello Parents, Did everyone enjoy Easter?? I hope so! The weather was perfect! I hope you are having a great week! I hope the sun shows up soon!
Reading- This week we are reading a nonfiction piece called Lewis and Clark. It is about the expedition west in the 1800s. We also read a short book called The History of the Fur Trade. I think I learned quite a bit about that business that I had not known before. This week in grammar we are working on contractions with verbs and pronouns. Their spelling has been covering the suffix -ion. This is the last story in this unit. I do not want to test them over this unit next week when they are already doing the Iowa Assessments. I decided that the following week will be Unit 5 testing. I am not sure what this will do to scores, but I just am not comfortable trying to get it into next week as well.
"The Baker's Neighbor"- I plan on them working on this play the week of April 20-24 too. We will do some testing each day on our unit and then work on practicing the play. I will give them the scripts next week. I will hold try-outs on Friday of next week. That way they can start memorizing their lines over the weekend. The play will be performed at 2:15 on Friday, April 24 in the gym. The play lasts only about 10 minutes, if you can take off work to come and watch--please do! We only do the one performance! I don't want to mess with schedules.
Math- Please look at the blog I posted on Wednesday! That will show you in pictures what they have been working on!!! They are loving the fraction strips!
Deborah Pope- Please keep her in your prayers. Most of you probably know her heart was not in good shape. She needed a heart transplant. I was notified on Wednesday that they had a heart for her. As of Wednesday morning, she was in Omaha at the hospital waiting for the heart to arrive. She is in surgery this morning (Thursday). We pray for her and Rowan that things would go well for the surgery and that recovery will be smooth.
Iowa Assessments-- They will be testing on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. At this point I don't have any testing being done on Wednesday or Friday. We plan on still having our afternoon classes. I will get math in when I am able. The best thing you can do is make sure they get plenty of sleep and a good breakfast each morning. Probably the most important they can do??? Just do your best! That is all I ask of them! The PTO will be supplying snacks. I also provide "brain food" during the tests-- suckers, mints, Jolly Ranchers,etc.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am actually staying in Creston! ;)
God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week we are reading a nonfiction piece called Lewis and Clark. It is about the expedition west in the 1800s. We also read a short book called The History of the Fur Trade. I think I learned quite a bit about that business that I had not known before. This week in grammar we are working on contractions with verbs and pronouns. Their spelling has been covering the suffix -ion. This is the last story in this unit. I do not want to test them over this unit next week when they are already doing the Iowa Assessments. I decided that the following week will be Unit 5 testing. I am not sure what this will do to scores, but I just am not comfortable trying to get it into next week as well.
"The Baker's Neighbor"- I plan on them working on this play the week of April 20-24 too. We will do some testing each day on our unit and then work on practicing the play. I will give them the scripts next week. I will hold try-outs on Friday of next week. That way they can start memorizing their lines over the weekend. The play will be performed at 2:15 on Friday, April 24 in the gym. The play lasts only about 10 minutes, if you can take off work to come and watch--please do! We only do the one performance! I don't want to mess with schedules.
Math- Please look at the blog I posted on Wednesday! That will show you in pictures what they have been working on!!! They are loving the fraction strips!
Deborah Pope- Please keep her in your prayers. Most of you probably know her heart was not in good shape. She needed a heart transplant. I was notified on Wednesday that they had a heart for her. As of Wednesday morning, she was in Omaha at the hospital waiting for the heart to arrive. She is in surgery this morning (Thursday). We pray for her and Rowan that things would go well for the surgery and that recovery will be smooth.
Iowa Assessments-- They will be testing on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. At this point I don't have any testing being done on Wednesday or Friday. We plan on still having our afternoon classes. I will get math in when I am able. The best thing you can do is make sure they get plenty of sleep and a good breakfast each morning. Probably the most important they can do??? Just do your best! That is all I ask of them! The PTO will be supplying snacks. I also provide "brain food" during the tests-- suckers, mints, Jolly Ranchers,etc.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am actually staying in Creston! ;)
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
This week the 5th graders started learning how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators! They were given fraction strips to work out their problems. This was a great way for them to "see" it happening. They had so much fun! They will be learning the traditional way to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators, but not just yet. They are first going to work on estimating fraction sums and differences using Benchmark numbers and fractions--0,1/2,1! 
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| The problem was 7/8- 1/4= 5/8 |
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| The problem was 5/6-1/2 =1/3 |
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Hi Parents,
I hope you are having a great week! At the time of my writing this blog, your kids are watching the "video". :) They were so funny before lunch! They were sure they should have seen it BEFORE they ate today!
Dollars for Scholars- They wrote their essays this week. I had completely forgotten about it. Thanks to Macy for reminding me! The 3 that will go on to be judged for the $50 certificate are: Macy, Megan, and Halle. I had 3 other teachers read the essays to choose the three they think answered the question. 5th graders are given 6 traits and have to choose one. Then they have to explain how that trait is important to their education. Some of the traits are respect, caring, citizenship, and responsibility. I am really happy I didn't have to choose the 3 because I thought they were a lot of good ones!
Book Report- I have given them the outline for their book report. It will be due on May 8. That gives them about 6 weeks. Many have already chosen their person. If they need help picking, let me know. Remember they are to read a book about this person. The internet is only to be used to find extra information or if they couldn't find something in their book. I told them for their costume to please not go out and buy anything unless absolutely necessary. I told them to look in their closets, your closets, grandparents, or ask friend first to borrow something. If they choose to type the report and don't have access to a computer, let me know. We can make arrangements to work in the library before or after school.
Reading- This week we read a story called Rachel's Journal. This story is a young girl's journal about her family moving across America in the 1850's. We talked a lot about how difficult it was for them and the different challenges they had to face. In grammar we are talking about comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs. For example, we are talking about when to use good, better, best or bad, worse, worst as adjectives. This also means when do we add -er or -est to the adjective? On Wednesday, we talked about adverbs and putting more or most in front of them. The adverbs we dealt with all ended in -ly. Their spelling this week was about working with prefixes. That also worked into our decoding this week. We broke the word into the prefix and the base or root word. They are testing today over spelling and the story since we don't have school tomorrow.
Math-- Okay we had to do a few days of corrections with adding our fractions with like denominators and ordering them. Last week they did have a couple of problems with VERY LARGE denominators! Luckily the computer gave me a website just to type the numbers in to find it! It still required a lot of work for them. They had to go back to multiplying and dividing! Next week we are going to start back in our book with adding and subtracting with unlike denominators.
Religion- This week they finished up their chapter. Next week we have mass to prepare for and I will be showing them the movie The Ten Commandments. I usually show it this week, but I wanted to finish up our chapter. Today we will be going to the chapel for the Stations of the Cross.
Young Writers- Mrs. Burg will be sending home information on this trip. Just a reminder, I will give them their homework on Tuesday that they will be needing for what we do on Wednesday while they are gone. They will need a sack lunch and a drink. I told them I hope they have GREAT weather! I usually end up going on the days we have rain or thunderstorms!
FYI-- Iowa Assessment Week is April 13-17.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter! I am heading to Doon...once again! :) I am celebrating it with my mom and my oldest sister and her family.
God Bless, Miss Surma
I hope you are having a great week! At the time of my writing this blog, your kids are watching the "video". :) They were so funny before lunch! They were sure they should have seen it BEFORE they ate today!
Dollars for Scholars- They wrote their essays this week. I had completely forgotten about it. Thanks to Macy for reminding me! The 3 that will go on to be judged for the $50 certificate are: Macy, Megan, and Halle. I had 3 other teachers read the essays to choose the three they think answered the question. 5th graders are given 6 traits and have to choose one. Then they have to explain how that trait is important to their education. Some of the traits are respect, caring, citizenship, and responsibility. I am really happy I didn't have to choose the 3 because I thought they were a lot of good ones!
Book Report- I have given them the outline for their book report. It will be due on May 8. That gives them about 6 weeks. Many have already chosen their person. If they need help picking, let me know. Remember they are to read a book about this person. The internet is only to be used to find extra information or if they couldn't find something in their book. I told them for their costume to please not go out and buy anything unless absolutely necessary. I told them to look in their closets, your closets, grandparents, or ask friend first to borrow something. If they choose to type the report and don't have access to a computer, let me know. We can make arrangements to work in the library before or after school.
Reading- This week we read a story called Rachel's Journal. This story is a young girl's journal about her family moving across America in the 1850's. We talked a lot about how difficult it was for them and the different challenges they had to face. In grammar we are talking about comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs. For example, we are talking about when to use good, better, best or bad, worse, worst as adjectives. This also means when do we add -er or -est to the adjective? On Wednesday, we talked about adverbs and putting more or most in front of them. The adverbs we dealt with all ended in -ly. Their spelling this week was about working with prefixes. That also worked into our decoding this week. We broke the word into the prefix and the base or root word. They are testing today over spelling and the story since we don't have school tomorrow.
Math-- Okay we had to do a few days of corrections with adding our fractions with like denominators and ordering them. Last week they did have a couple of problems with VERY LARGE denominators! Luckily the computer gave me a website just to type the numbers in to find it! It still required a lot of work for them. They had to go back to multiplying and dividing! Next week we are going to start back in our book with adding and subtracting with unlike denominators.
Religion- This week they finished up their chapter. Next week we have mass to prepare for and I will be showing them the movie The Ten Commandments. I usually show it this week, but I wanted to finish up our chapter. Today we will be going to the chapel for the Stations of the Cross.
Young Writers- Mrs. Burg will be sending home information on this trip. Just a reminder, I will give them their homework on Tuesday that they will be needing for what we do on Wednesday while they are gone. They will need a sack lunch and a drink. I told them I hope they have GREAT weather! I usually end up going on the days we have rain or thunderstorms!
FYI-- Iowa Assessment Week is April 13-17.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter! I am heading to Doon...once again! :) I am celebrating it with my mom and my oldest sister and her family.
God Bless, Miss Surma
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