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
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
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
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